Eastern Kentucky University junior Amy McCoy rests next to her cardboard shelter during Saturday's "Displace Me" event at Haggin Field on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. Photo by Jill Laster | Staff
By Hannah Ockerman
With hundreds of cars leaving the football game and the bright lights of the W.T. Young Library overhead, Haggin Field may not have looked much like a refugee camp. But that didn’t stop students from sleeping on the field to support a cause.
About 50 people participated in “Displace Me,†aimed to draw attention to the country of Uganda, which has been dealing with the effects of a long war.
The event, in its second year at UK, raised over $400 in donations, said event coordinator Jessica Kane. The money will help build schools, hire teachers, buy textbooks, and provide clean water and sanitation for the Lacor Secondary School in Uganda.
Stephanie Smider, a special education freshman, spray paints a stencil of Africa onto a T-shirt while students set up cardboard houses on Haggin Field during Displace Me on Saturday night. Photo by Ed Matthews | Staff
During the event, sponsored by Invisible Children UK, students built shelters out of cardboard boxes to show the living conditions of those in displacement camps in Uganda. The students slept in the shelters overnight and were served crackers and water by organizers to mimic scarcity of food in the camps.
Dressed warmly, students used the time to participate in activities such as watching the “Invisible Children†documentary, about displaced children in Uganda.
Though it was chilly, participants kept a positive attitude, Kane said.
“Without passion there, it would have been quite miserable,†she said.
Junior Ashley Crawford, who went to last year’s event, said it was watching the “Invisible Children†documentary that motivated her to try and help Uganda’s displaced children.
“Once you hear about it, it’s a cause you can’t help but get involved in,†Crawford said. “(The war and aftermath has) been going on for 23 years and nobody’s heard about it. It’s shocking that it has been going on for so long.â€
At about 2 a.m., participants observed 23 minutes of silence. The silence represented the 23 years of war and post-war effects on the country of Uganda.
Kane says her favorite part of the night, next to the minutes of silence, was when a man came and played bongo drums. He came in the early morning, so students woke up to the sound. He continued to play as everyone packed up and started to leave.
Kane, a senior, said while she won’t be here to put it on, she absolutely expects the event will take place next year.
Sitting in his cardboard shelter with five friends, freshman Andy Lewis said he was there to support an important cause.
“It’s a global issue, and I think people need to really pay more attention to it,†he said.
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