Students at St. Croix’s St. Joseph High School undertook a "Children for Children, 9.11.01" march for peace last week.
Dr. Susan Diverio, the principal of St. Joseph High School, said that the objectives of the march were to raise money for the children of the victims of the terrorist attack on September 11 and to raise a sense of social awareness and consciousness about the importance of coming together and uniting for America.
Besides St. Joseph High School, six other schools participated in the march, including St. Croix Country Day School, Good Hope School, Manor School, St. Mary's Catholic School, St. Patrick's School, School of the Good Shepherd, Community Methodist School and the IQRA Academy.
About 500 students, teachers, and parents started the march with prayer service on the grounds of St. Joseph High School. Students and leaders from the participating schools shared their thoughts in the prayer service, which was led by Fr. Cecil Corneille, the pastor of St. Joseph Church and a member of the St. Joseph High school board.
Many of the participants wore T-shirts with specially designed American Flag artwork by St. Joseph High School student Alfredo Cuencas. The proceeds from the sale of the T-shirts went to the children of the disaster.
The march, led by the St. Joseph High School contingent, followed a police escort down Centerline Road. With the strong sun being shaded at times by the passing clouds, the participants marched along the road to Sunshine Mall, one-and-a-half miles away.
Traffic passing by honked their horns to show their support for world peace. After about an hour of marching, K-Mart at Sunshine Mall was reached and the long line of participants swerved around the parking lots in front of the businesses. The march paused for a few minutes to take part in some more prayers for world peace and to sing the National Anthem.
Then the march proceeded up the opposite side of Centerline Road to make the hour long journey back to St. Joseph High School. Arriving back at the school, many of the participants had a lunch at the school with the proceeds going to the children's fund. A momentarily heavy downpour did not dampen the spirits of the participants.
