IRVINE : Teen Fund-Raisers Packing for Africa

Henry Hays never imagined that he would meet foreign dignitaries, address lawmakers and travel halfway around the world when he agreed earlier this year to help a few of his classmates with a famine relief fund-raiser at University High School.

But there the 18-year-old Hays stood Friday at a special assembly at the school, embracing an important African politician and thinking about his upcoming trip to Washington and Africa where he will see how the $25,000 his classmates raised for famine relief will be used.

Hays and five other University High students are scheduled to make the journey to Senegal and Mali later this month. On Friday, a member of Mali’s ruling National Council made a detour on an American fact-finding mission to meet the students who offered help to his poverty-stricken country.

“I’m just stunned about the whole thing,” said Hays, a senior and manager of the school basketball team. “I can’t believe I’m really going to another continent--somewhere different from Irvine. When I got involved, I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. . . . Now I’m actually going to be able to do that.”

The visit by Bajan Ag Hamatou, the chief of one of Mali’s largest tribes, capped a monthlong fund-raising drive on the campus. Students were asked to donate their lunch money once a week during February and to get sponsors to do the same. Hays was one of the top money raisers, collecting $1,000.

Hamatou, who is in the United States to examine different forms of government, spoke at an assembly of more than 800 University students, thanking the group for its help in feeding his people.

“We have been victimized by nature,” he said through an interpreter. “We lost our animals and way of living because of the drought. You have helped us.”

Hamatou, clad in a brown cloth head cover and gray robe, stressed the difference between Mali--which has an illiteracy rate of 90%--and Irvine, where most of the student who cheered him after his address wore trendy summer clothes and expensive athletic shoes.

However, he also noted that his village and the high school have roughly the same populations, and that the citizens of Mali appreciate the students’ assistance.

“My people like to see (aid) that comes from people, not from government to government,” he said. “It makes them feel like they can go on with their lives--like other people.”

Hays, for one, was impressed by the Malian leader, who received loud applause often during the assembly.

“At first, I was a little intimidated by the man. He is very powerful,” said Hays. “But he is a very congenial and intelligent man.”

The first-of-its-kind famine relief program was sponsored by the Irvine-based U.S. Students Against World Hunger. Officials hope to bring the fund-raiser to other schools around Orange County.

The students will leave Southern California on March 28, traveling first to Washington to meet with members of Congress working on world hunger legislation before moving on to Africa for an eight-day visit.

“I can’t put into words how excited I am about going,” said Kenya Johnson, another student who will make the trip. “I don’t have any thoughts in my mind (about Africa). I just want to do all I can when I get there.”