Eight Los Angeles schoolchildren chosen to view measles campaign in Kenya and star in documentary being produced about the Measles Initiative

Eight children have been selected to travel to Kenya to learn more about the Measles Initiative. (front row L to R: Paolo, Daniel, Christina, Nikkol back row L to R: Sammy, Erik, Alysa, Kristen)

Eight schoolchildren from Richard Henry Dana Middle School in Hawthorne will participate in the June 2002 measles campaign in Kenya as the focus of a documentary being produced about the Measles Initiative. James Keach, filmmaker, actor and producer, is filming a documentary that focuses on American schoolchildren of different backgrounds and their thoughts and ideas about children in other parts of the world. Jane Seymour, an American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet member and who is married to Keach, will accompany the children and narrate the film.

The children will spend about a week viewing the measles campaign in Kenya, particularly in the districts of Kibera, Machakos and Masai. They will interact with Kenyan schoolchildren in the classroom, during chores at home, and at play. A key part of the documentary is to have American and African children exchange their personal ideas of the world, struggles each set of children has, and views about how they could make a difference in reducing these struggles.

Before they depart for Kenya, they will share their thoughts, on-camera, about what they expect to see and their feelings about how children live in other parts of the world.

The children will keep their experiences in diaries and take photos to share with classmates and their families upon their return. Children will also be asked to write an essay about their trip and will be interviewed on-camera about their experiences when they return.

The children will view every aspect of a measles campaign:

• they will see the distribution of vaccination supplies on vaccination day including the vaccines, vaccine carriers, syringes, safety supplies, etc.
• they will take part in youth-led activities including parading through the streets with banners to urge parents to get their children vaccinated, and learning measles songs about the deadly disease.
• they will watch plays put on by Red Cross volunteers to convince families that vaccination is important.
• they will take part in vaccination day, watching vaccinators give measles shots.
• they will help vaccinators give children vitamin A drops that boost their immune systems.

The children will also visit local hospital pediatric wards and talk to doctors and mothers who know all too well how measles kills many children in their communities.

Fifteen children were chosen to be part of the selection process. They were asked to write an essay about what is important to them, their thoughts about measles, and the world at large. The 15 children were chosen based on maturity level, conduct at school, good grades (at least a B average) and diversity. All children verbally expressed their essays on-camera and were chosen based on their abilities to communicate and express their true feelings.

The eight children confirmed are (click each name to read their essay):
Alysa, 8th grade
Christina, 6th grade
Daniel, 8th grade
Erik, 7th grade
Kristen, 7th grade
Nikkol, 7th grade
Paolo, 6th grade
Sammy, 6th grade

Get to Know Us! Read American Red Cross Questions and Answers with Alysa, Christina, Daniel, Erik, Kristen, Nikkol, Paulo and Sammy.

Two chaperones include:
Donna Tucker, R.N. (nurse at Dana Middle School)
Bill Lord, seventh grade humanities teacher who has a specialization in African studies