[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4688-4689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           COMMENDING ULYSSES BYIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the good works of the students of the Ulysses Byis Elementary School in 
Roosevelt, Long Island, in my district.
  On Tuesday, March 18, I visited the students at the school to honor 
their hard work in raising awareness and funds for humanitarian efforts 
helping those suffering from the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. The 
students worked to help achieve and support the mission of the U.N. 
Millennium Development goals in bringing aid and awareness to health, 
education, poverty, and sustainable living needs in Africa.
  Under the guidance of educators Ms. Hazelton, Ms. Warfield, and 
Principal Lillian Coggins-Watson, the students got involved with the 
national network of O Ambassador's clubs, a part of Oprah's ``Angel 
Network,'' with the goal of working to find solutions to global 
challenges through active learning, idea sharing, and taking action.
  The students worked diligently and raised $1,100 in just 2 days to 
benefit relief agencies in the East African Nation of Sudan. These 
students made an extraordinary effort to help a problem that is very 
far away from them, and their work and contributions need to be 
acknowledged.
  Considering the volume of money Congress manages every single day, 
$1,100 might sound like a small amount, but the effort by the children 
of Ulysses Byis Elementary School was massive, considering that many of 
the families in the Roosevelt School District face harsh economic 
challenges of their own.
  The fact that these students worked as hard as they did to raise the 
money that will help save the lives of people thousands of miles away 
speaks not only of their extraordinary character, but what a terrific 
job the teachers and parents in the Roosevelt School District are doing 
in instilling in the children the qualities that make our citizens and 
Nation great.
  The students have not stopped in their efforts to raise money and 
attention to the difficulties facing the people of Darfur. In fact, 
since I visited the school just 2 weeks ago, the students have raised 
over $600 more and have the goal of reaching $5,000 by the end of the 
school year. They plan to sell scratch-off tickets, hold a walk-a-thon, 
and continue to collect the pocket change that students bring with them 
to school. These children will not let any obstacle prevent them from 
achieving their goal to help the Sudanese people.
  Some of the money raised by the students will go towards the purchase 
of mosquito bed nets, which have been shown to dramatically lessen the 
spread of malaria. The seemingly simple technology of insecticide 
treated bed nets has proven to be remarkably effective and can save 
thousands of lives a year by minimizing one of the region's most deadly 
diseases.
  As has been mentioned many times here on the House floor, the 
situation in Darfur is dire, and financial aid is crucial in helping to 
manage the humanitarian crisis that is being faced there every day.
  While we are still working to find ways to help eliminate the 
violence and brutality of genocide that has become synonymous with 
Darfur, we need to take a lesson from the students and work to help 
them manage the health and well-being of the country's population. Each 
year, thousands of

[[Page 4689]]

Sudanese will fall victim to disease and famine. What makes these 
deaths even more tragic is that so many could have been prevented by 
the use of the kind of bed netting that the money raised by the 
students will go towards purchasing.
  Additionally, this week we will vote on H.R. 5510, the Tom Lantos and 
Henry J. Hide United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, 
Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The bill will 
provide much-needed funds that will be useful in advancing the causes 
that the children are working toward. This bill will help impact one of 
the most important issues of our time, helping to stem the spread of 
deadly and potentially preventable diseases.
  It is absolutely vital that the United States Government and Members 
of this Congress continue to decry the outrageous horrors of genocide 
and Darfur. And we must continue to find ways, as the children have, to 
help the Sudanese people survive.
  I would like to extend my congratulations and deepest gratitude to 
the students of the Ulysses Byis Elementary School, and their teachers, 
principals and parents for their tremendous efforts and their spirit of 
giving and generosity.
  I would also like to thank and recognize the efforts of Oprah Winfrey 
for offering the tools and inspiration for the children at the Ulysses 
Byis School and students throughout the Nation through her Angel 
Network and O Ambassadors program to take action and to do the hard 
work necessary to help those less fortunate.
  Finally, I would just like to tell the students of the Ulysses Byis 
School to keep up their good work. Don't quit. I know that you will 
reach and exceed your goals. The people of Darfur need your help, and 
we are all behind you. I thank the students for the work they have 
done.

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