“See The Difference One Container Can Make,” is an innovative edu-service project created through a partnership between Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School (BRRHS) and Homes of Living Hope (HLH), a community service organization.  The student-centered project integrates a large scale community service project within BRRHS’ Home Improvement curriculum.   During the course of the school year, over 100 BRRHS students will reconfigure a recycled shipping container into a fully functional medical clinic for hundreds of impoverished orphans living in Pader, Uganda.

HLH is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded on the premise that they can help the disadvantaged and underprivileged, not only with monetary donations but through volunteer time and expertise.  HLH works with local organizations to build ready-made facilities for impoverished communities.  HLH enlists the help of volunteers to build usable housing, educational and/or medical facilities fashioned out of recycled shipping containers.

BRRHS believes its Home Improvement pedagogy is a uniquely accessible vehicle in which to support HLH.  In addition, by providing access to real-world situations, BRRHS’ Home Improvement students are uniquely challenged to think beyond themselves and their local community.  Through this project, students will gain the perspective that they are pro-active citizens of the global community.  They will begin to understand the challenges that children their own age face in impoverished countries like Uganda.

Once configured into a medical clinic, the container will be packed full of items such as clothing, shoes, books, medical supplies, and nonperishable food.  These items will provide direct short-term aid to Uganda’s orphans, as well as furnish much needed supplies for the staff operating the medical facility......CONTINUE to read on.

You can follow our students’ hard work and the Container’s remarkable transformation by clicking on the various numbered week tabs to the left of the page.......CONTINUE to see their progress.