'Africrans' Sheds Light On Slave TradeMany kids Heidi Ziebarth’s age have pen pals. The sixth-grader from Harrison Elementary is no exception. Her pen pal is named Vida. Vida lives in a Christian orphanage in Africa. Ziebarth’s connection to Africa runs beyond writing letters to Vida, however. Last year, Ziebarth initiated a project called “Africrans by Amerikids”. She and her mom, Christi, started out by collecting old crayons, melting them down to make new ones, packaging them and selling them. That money goes to organizations in Africa fighting against slavery and helping free children from slavery. One of those groups is Village of Hope. The idea grew out of Ziebarth’s family friend, Jenny, who had spent time in Africa. Their friend brought home hundreds of pictures, and with tears in her eyes told stories of the many children in Ghana that have been rescued from slavery. It’s estimated that there are 27 million slaves in the world. “This is a very ‘me,’ self-focused society,” said Christi. With a focus on service through their faith, it was ingrained in Heidi at an early age to look for ways to help others. The pictures and stories from Jenny planted the seed, but it was Heidi’s interest and hard work that made it grow. Christi said it wasn’t her intention to push Heidi into this project. She also said the focus isn’t about shedding a light on Heidi but raising awareness. Along with the crayons, Heidi has given age-appropriate presentations to classrooms where she discusses the slave trade as well as Fair Trade. Heidi is so passionate about Fair Trade and the effects it has in contributing to the slave trade that she has researched companies that use slave labor and has boycotted them. Heidi even got her best friend Hayley to join her in a boycott of Hershey products. More people are getting involved with Africrans. And it’s not just kids. Heidi will show up at different events and have “peeling parties” where old crayons will have their wrappers taken off. “We have a lot of adults do it,” said Christi. “They say it’s therapeutic.” Heidi’s project gained some steam for its recycling aspect when it recently won “Best of Show” for the 2011 REMC Student Art Calendar Contest. “Africrans by Amerikids” is sold locally at Tree of Life bookstore in Winona Lake, KC Recycling Depot, Pottery Bayou and at Global Hand Crafts and Victory Christian Fellowship, both in North Manchester. More than 1,350 packages have been distributed. The Ziebarths said it was important that the retailers they used share their vision. To contact the Ziebarths about possibly carrying the crayons, e-mail africans@yahoo.com With school coming to an end soon, the Ziebarths will be busy collecting crayons from local schools. An “Africans by Amerikids” display will be on the porch of Pottery Bayou in Winona Lake June 10 from 5 to 8 p.m. Heidi has a blog at africansbyamerikids@blogspot.com A website is also in the early stages of development. Christi said it was important for this type of “Pay it Forward” project that Heidi strike a balance with it. While it can be considered a recycling project or a repurposing project, Heidi identifies herself through this project as an artist and modern-day abolitionist. “I’d really like to go to Africa at some point,” said Heidi. While that remains a dreams of hers and she is seeking ways to achieve that, she said it won’t come at the expense of the project. And perhaps someday she can meet her pen pal. Heidi sent Vida a gift, a dog tag with her name on it, from her “American sister”. That gesture perhaps means more to a girl like Vida. Sold into slavery at such a young age, VIda doesn’t know her age (it’s believed to be around 12) or her last name. That’s the story for so many slaves in Africa. Heidi’s efforts and the efforts of those following her lead are hoping to rewrite the story of those children.
