St. Luke School Middle School students collected personal care items for Hope Kits they are assembling for Medical Teams International to distribute in areas in need around the world. Showing examples are seventh graders Otto Dysinger, Fernando Alatorre, Jake Shultz, Mary Davidson, Lauren Brassel, Angelina Hostetler and Jessica Baron.
St. Luke School Middle School students collected personal care items for Hope Kits they are assembling for Medical Teams International to distribute in areas in need around the world. Showing examples are seventh graders Otto Dysinger, Fernando Alatorre, Jake Shultz, Mary Davidson, Lauren Brassel, Angelina Hostetler and Jessica Baron.
WOODBURN — St. Luke Middle School students recently visited the Real Life exhibit in Tigard sponsored by Medical Teams International. The youths learned about global crisis by witnessing scenes of poverty, natural disaster and sickness, and are responding by assembling personal care kits called "Hope Kits." The kits will be distributed by Medical Teams International to people around the world.

Kits include toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, brushes, soap, washcloths and dental floss.
“The Real Life exhibit can be a very powerful experience for our students,” said Becky Williams, St. Luke Middle School teacher. “Although it’s heartbreaking to learn about the suffering and poverty that takes place in our world, it’s an incredible opportunity for our students to witness people reaching out to help those in need. Each year we visit the exhibit, the students are inspired to come back to school and do something to make a difference in the lives of those who are far less fortunate.”

Through life-size photography and interactive exhibits, visitors see places that have been served by the volunteers of Medical Teams International. Exhibits include a replicated medical triage clinic after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines; a room with a 25-foot tsunami wave, along with stories and drawings made by children who survived the tsunami; and a Mozambiquan village compound where HIV and AIDS have ravaged the community.

St. Luke School students have visited the Real Life exhibit bi-annually for the past six years. For the past couple of years, the eighth grade students have been serving as ambassadors for the exhibit by helping to educate the younger middle school students about what they will learn. Students write papers and develop PowerPoint presentations.