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Over 90 young volunteers – including Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus – gathered in a warehouse outside Atlanta on July 13 to sort and pack donated books headed to schools, libraries and literacy programs in Africa. The effort was organized by students at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology as part of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core's "Days of Interfaith Youth Service" campaign, which takes place at sites all over the world.
The participants – college and high school students – took advantage of the rare opportunity to meet other students representing a wide range of countries and faith traditions.
"At Emory University, I learned about differences between religions, such as that some are monotheistic and some are polytheistic," said Birendra Odari, a teen refugee from Bhutan. "My religion, Hinduism, is polytheistic. That means that just as a family has more than one person, we believe there is more than one god."
The event was co-sponsored by local faith organizations, including the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta and the Marcus Jewish Community Center. Volunteers from the Centers for Disease Control and Druid Hills High School also joined in the effort.
Throughout the day, YTI staff led discussion groups that centered on personal faith and religion. The service portion of the day – the main event – was spent at the warehouse of Books for Africa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the continent’s "book famine."
"If we have to make the day better than yesterday, we have to be united to do work," said Tilchand Mapchhan (Naresh) Thapa, a teen refugee from Nepal. "Emory Day of Interfaith Youth Service was really great because to help others is a great thing in human beings. And if we help others, they will help us when we need help."
The day ended with food, music, dancing, soccer, and ultimate Frisbee; and though some left after dinner, many students stuck around into the night discussing their faith.
"Meeting people from various backgrounds and states was like drinking salty water, which makes me more thirsty the more I drink," said Kamal Dahal, a teen refugee from Bhutan. "Every moment I spent is now a remarkable memory."
Posted July 31, 2009
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