Youth SpotLIGHT: Oné Respé

Today’s Youth SpotLIGHT is Karson Baldwin, a rising senior in high school in Cleveland, Ohio. Karson is a member of the HOPE worldwide National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC). NYAC gives high school and college students the opportunity to build important leadership skills and use them selflessly. One way they accomplish this is through creating service projects, also known as Passion Projects. Karson’s Passion Project, Oné Respé, received local media coverage and even won the 2020 Accelerate: Citizens Make Change pitch competition in Cleveland! Check out what he had to say.

Karson Baldwin:

"At International Newcomers Academy, K-12 students from 48 countries, speaking 27 different languages, laugh and learn together. When I was introduced to this magical school, I knew I had to be involved. What I didn’t know was the most effective way to contribute. I met with the principal who asked me to focus my efforts on celebrating the school’s unparalleled diversity. So I mobilized volunteers and created a welcome table reflecting the nations in the school. For the next project, we discussed flying 48 flags by the school’s entrance. I was excited and began planning. A few days later, the principal told me that she feared the prominent sight of the flags might invite violence or vandalism. She reasoned that something less visible would be safer. Disappointed, and safely tucked away in the courtyard, the students and I began painting a rock garden with their home countries’ flags. The stunning realization that people might target this school because its students are immigrants and refugees upset me deeply. How could people feel that way about these amazing students? I began to recognize that newcomers’ greatest need was not random diversity-themed projects but developing meaningful relationships that would change our community by building bridges of mutual trust and understanding. Although many were far more courageous and resilient, having endured unthinkable trials, I knew these students had so much in common with my classmates. So with the goal of sharing reciprocal friendship and overcoming a deficit of kindness, I designed my NYAC Passion Project, a buddy program named Oné Respé, after a Haitian greeting of welcome meaning honor and respect. For two years, Oné Respé has paired American teenagers at independent schools and newcomers to create, eat, serve and laugh together. We’ve cultivated honor and respect and bolstered language acquisition while fostering social connections and helping American-born students gain a greater understanding of global society and the complicated realities of being a refugee or an immigrant. I’ve been told frequently that this friendship-based integration program has been invaluable both socially and academically and see it impacting hundreds of lives.”

Great job, Karson! Check out hopeww.org/YouthSpotLIGHTto stay up to date with more good news and preview upcoming posts!