Posted by Boua Xiong
It's often said it takes a village to raise a child. But in this case, it's the children who may have to raise this entire community. Second graders at Cass Lake-Bena wrote letters to Santa Clause asking for a little help for their city.
“Dear Santa, my name is Justin. I live in Cass Lake. For my town I would like no killing and no drugs,” one student wrote.
“For my town I would like all kids to be safe,” wrote another student.
These students live in a city plagued by poverty, drugs and violence. The school drop out rate in Cass Lake is one of the highest in the state of Minnesota. However, inside this classroom, together with their teacher, these students are trying to look beyond all that.
"They're precious children and they want so much and they have so much big hopes and dreams for themselves and their families and for our class," teacher Carried Raddatz said.
In the park just a few feet away from the school you can actually see the very things the students write about in their letters. You can see the traces of drugs, violence and the graffiti. Teachers said they're trying to teach these kids about the meaning of community. They believe that's the only thing that will help heal the area and get rid of the violence and the drugs. The local Boys and Girls Club is also helping enforce these lessons.
"It's great to see the regular faces everyday to kind of see them grow and make the smart decision," Ronna Treuer of the Boys and Girls Club said.
Nearly 120 kids show up everyday after school. Most of them are elementary aged. That’s the perfect age to teach and sometimes re–teach.
"We see these kids make these bad decisions but we're here to help redirect them," Treuer said.
Nearly 90% of Cass Lake students are Native American. The Leech Lake Reservation said it’s drafting a plan to help their youth deal with all the things the second graders wrote about. Tribal leaders said they are well aware of the issues these children face.
“I know what it's like to be from a broken family. Not seeing your brothers and sisters. I'm not going to lie or anything. There' s drugs in my family and I overcame all of that,” Eugene Whitebird, of the Leech Lake Band said.
Now, teachers and community members are trying to help these children do the same. These simple yet powerful letters to Santa are only the beginning.
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