A unique lesson in current events and aiding others

Students in Flandreau know that some of their classmates go to bed hungry each night and they are grateful for what they understand is a steady stream of resources available through the school, the community and organizations like Second Harvest to reach these families. Many have helped over the years, in fact, with the school’s own backpack program — the school and community for years now have partnered to send a backpack with nutritious food options home with children in need so that they hopefully don’t go hungry over for the weekend when school breakfasts and lunches aren’t available.
Typically, students believe that there is assistance available and it is fairly easy to access.
They’ve learned recently though that not everyone is so lucky.
“It’s important to help in any way you can,” said Justin Haugen, a Flandreau 8th grader, as he stood in front of a food weighing station in the Armory. Haugen was among hundreds of students this past week that had the opportunity to help bag up portioned amounts of soy, dried vegetables, vitamins and minerals and rice bound for the Central American country of Nicaragua.
Two absolutely devastating hurricanes in just the past couple of years along with “one of the worst dictatorships in the world,” according to comments from the European Union’s foreign policy chief just this past week, have created a catastrophic if not deadly situation for residents there. Food is scarce as are many other resources. Aid is increasingly diverted or confiscated. Any opposition to the current President, Daniel Ortega or his government, can result in severe repercussions, including jail. The country is slated to hold general elections in just a couple of weeks but world leaders fear Ortega’s actions will undermine the process and result in further chaos and devastation.

They’ve learned much of this through Flandreau native Craig Severtson, who has long held a love for the people of Nicaragua. Severtson traveled to what was then a war-torn nation as a young man — he’s never let go of the connections made during that time, or the impact the experience had on him. It’s what has led him to establish the nonprofit, Helping Kids Round First (HKRF), a mission that started as a baseball program that The Enterprise and many other local news outlets have covered for years. It has since expanded into an agriculture, water, education and healthcare mission.
And now, it is a humanitarian mission.
Students and staff from Flandreau Public Schools are among the many lining up to help, churches and other organizations from across the region have also been filling bags over the past few weeks. Each small bag of food filled, they are told, may seem small. But it could mean everything to a family literally starving as it holds enough food to feed a family of six for one meal at a cost of $.20 each.  
“Between the two hurricanes and the main crops and gardens wiped out,” explained Scott Parsley, a friend of the organization and a former state legislator, “they will eat their seed which will wipe out next year’s crop if we don’t get this aid to them. There should be 150,000 meals heading out in a shipping container when we’re done. It’s not going to go a long ways, but it’s going to help...and we hope to get it down there by Christmas.”
Faith Wiese, also an 8th grader, said that it felt good to be helping others in need.
Shannon Roubideaux and his friends at the table behind Wiese, agreed, as they worked quickly to get the right amounts of each item bagged and to the weigh stations.
The container will be the second going through the organization this year alone, another was shipped in July.
 “Had it been more settled down there we would have done one earlier this year,” Severtsen explained. “But you just don’t know for sure when you ship something in how it’s going to go.”
When the bags were full as time alloted, the Flandreau 8th graders packed the most filling over 4,900 bags. Fifth graders filled over 2500, 6th grade, 3900 and 7th graders filled in excess of 3500, nearly 15,000 meals.