Saratoga News
Education
Student's interest in history goes beyond homework
By Emilie Doolittle
Rachael Kim talks like a history professor and does business like a CEO, but she's just a hard-working high school student who is devoted to a nonprofit organization called the War Stories Project.
Besides doing her homework, the Saratoga High School senior writes 12-page manuals that include spreadsheets and graphs every month for the War Stories Project. She trains volunteers and leads group projects, and she is not getting paid.
The War Stories Project, sponsored by Foothill and De Anza community colleges, is putting together a documentary and anthology recounting the World War II experiences of 39 people from around the Bay Area who are veterans, Holocaust survivors, nurses or simply witnesses to the war. The organization hopes to distribute the documentary to high schools and middle schools in the Bay Area.
Rachael started volunteering for the War Stories Project before her freshman year of high school. The following year she became the coordinator of the project. Rachael leads volunteers in collecting images and research related to the stories within the documentary.
Like many Saratoga High seniors, Rachael has a strong desire to get into college, but she said her reason for committing so much time and effort to the War Stories Project is her love of history.
Rachael was touched by the story of Holocaust survivor Bruno Bienenfeld. His family was taken to the Jasenovic concentration camp in 1943, where they were given only one piece of bread a day. One night he happened to find another piece of bread and was told by his mother that an angel put it there for him. Every day he discovered another piece of bread under his pillow. However, after three hard months in the camp, his mother died and the bread stopped coming. His father said it was because Bienenfeld's angel was too busy taking his mom to heaven.
After hearing hundreds of World War II stories, Rachael is certain that passing on these stories will benefit people her age. "This is definitely a way for my age group to learn about their grandparents and generations that dealt with adversity," she said. "The only way we can prevent tragedies like the Japanese containment camps is by letting students know about the racism and discrimination that those practices caused."
The War Stories Project was founded by Sheila Dunec, a professor who teaches a life stories class at Foothill Community College. Dunec met many students who shared their World War II experiences for the first time and decided to work with them to create the documentary.
Dunec gives Rachael research and image compilation assignments. Rachael then teaches volunteers how to search for images, save them appropriately and categorize them for the documentary. Project manager James Wong organizes the images onto a computer.
While all participants in the project work well together, without adequate funding the project cannot move forward. Before the end of the year the War Stories Project needs at least $30,000 to fund the production of the documentary, purchase images, publish the anthology and distribute both the documentary and anthology to Bay Area schools.
Donations to the War Stories Project are tax deductible. To make a donation, write a check to Foothill/De Anza Community Colleges Foundation and write "War Stories Project" in the memo section. Send the check to Rachael Kim, 19976 Garnett Court, Saratoga, CA 95070. Rachael will send a receipt that includes a record of the amount donated and the tax ID number.
"The War Stories Project helped me to appreciate the experience of the elder generation," said Rachael. "I learned how valuable family is to people, especially when people are going through hard times."
For more information about volunteering for the organization, contact Rachael Kim at lemon.gumdrop@gmail.com.
