Students in the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at Laing Middle School sold lollipops last week to raise money for the Remember Niger Coalition, which is an organization dedicated to expanding educational opportunities in the West African nation of Niger.

Last week, the students and staff welcomed four members of the group for a school tour, as well as to take part in the NJHS monthly meeting. These members were: Kara VanderKamp, president of Remember Niger, Julie Frye, Director of Communications and Marketing and two representatives from Niger: Mariama Harouna, a principal at one of the schools, and Ibrahim Abdou, the coordinator of the coalition in the country of Niger.

After the representatives spoke, NJHS students presented them with an initial donation of $500 dollars. In order to raise the money, NJHS students sold Sour Skull pops before school and after lunch for three days.

Laing NJHS advisor and Spanish Teacher Alexandra Tombs said,”It was an amazing opportunity for our students to hear from both Ms. Harouna and Mr. Abdou as they shared stories about students from the schools we have helped.”

“In the past four years, we have not only sponsored students to attend school full time for an entire year, but we have also donated money to help feed students at various schools for years at a time,” Tombs said. “We have written letters in French, made and sent keychains and have received pictures and letters back from students who we have had the pleasure of supporting.”