CINCINNATI — In the busy halls of Aiken High School, there’s a small business brewing. Students and staff can grab a cup of coffee at Awaken at Aiken, a student-run coffee stand in the English language learners section of the school.
Students hoping to learn and practice career skills handled everything from the transactions to the brewing and the roasting. All the proceeds go right back to the students in the form of scholarships.
As of late March, though, there's been an exception. Those same students who manage the business decided that money should go further. The money they raise serving their classmates should go to serving refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Arina Thapa said the idea started when she and three other classmates roasted the month's coffee beans.
“Afterwards, we were eating pizza, and we thought, this is a real treat,” she said.
Thapa said the students thought about the war in Ukraine and how it’s leaving millions without homes and reliable access to food. As Nepali refugees themselves, the students said the situation felt familiar.
“I have not been in that situation of not getting to eat, but my family, people like Nepali people, have been in that place,” Thapa said. “I know the feeling because I’ve heard a lot of stories from my mom, from my family, from my friends.”
Looking for a way to help, the students consulted their faculty adviser, Aaron Parker, who showed them a video from World Central Kitchen.
The chef-focused nonprofit provides meals to those fleeing humanitarian or climate crises, and since late February, WCK focuses on feeding Ukrainian refugees.
So far, the chefs have served thousands of meals at eight different crossings along the Ukrainian border and have been working to support restaurants in 12 different Ukrainian cities so they can continue to supply and prepare meals for those unable to leave.
After their research, the students decided WCK would be the perfect place to send any funds they collect from their latest batch of coffee.
“It means a lot because I’m also a refugee, so I know what it’s like to get helped,” Pawan Rai, one of the students, said.
The students sell a few dozen cups a day at $2 a cup to keep their product affordable. They hope to raise a few hundred dollars over the next month.
“If we help them a little bit, it would mean a lot for them,” Thapa said.
This isn’t the first time the students have stepped up to help fight food insecurity. Food production is one of the focuses of the ESL program at Aiken. The students run a small farm and community garden. Everything they grow is either sold to benefit the students or goes home with families who need it.
“The work we do is fantastic,” Rai said.
For students, it’s an opportunity to learn in a hands-on culturally relevant way, while also getting to give back to people just like themselves.