Letters from Students: “What Makes a Hero?”

Several middle school students have written letters about Katja Starkey and Touch the Nations.  Here is the text of one; we have attached several others:

“What makes a hero? Courage? Bravery? I say spirit. For it is the selfless ones who think of others before themselves. The heroes that have fine qualities like loyalty, fairness, and most importantly, the willingness to sacrifice.

One of my personal heroes is Mrs. Starkey. I’ve never had her for a teacher, but I met her for the first time in fifth grade when she talked about her orphanage that she had started in Burundi, Africa. She also talked to us about what happens at the orphanage, and what she does there, and how we could help. I was truly inspired.

A few years later, Mrs. Starkey was involved in another one of our school projects. It was called ‘World In Need.’ Many people came and participated at the many events there. They also donated money towards charity organizations. One of the many organizations that we donated to was Mrs. Starkey’s Burundi orphanage so that they could help out with the finances of the orphanage and maybe even accept another orphan off of the streets and into the orphanage’s shelter. Everyone was happy with the outcome, but few more than Mrs. Starkey.

Mrs. Starkey is such a wonderful person. She’s interesting and kind. She’s never selfish or closed-minded. Mrs. Starkey has a loving heart and an open mind. Her devotion to helping others is never ending. She has such a kindred spirit in tune with what the world needs. She’s SO much more than a teacher. She’s my hero.”

OPSStudentwrotethisaboutMrsStarkey

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