Environmental Health Related to Childrens' Learning

In the Fall of 2018, the Recycling and Reuse Technology Transfer Center partnered with Helping Hands International to host a fundraising dinner in an effort to support the construction of a new hall in a rural school in Pakistan. The event featured guest speakers Dr. Catherine Zeman, Professor of Environmental Health; Ms. Dema Kazkaz, President of Masjid Al Noor Islamic Center in Waterloo, Iowa; Mr. Shamir Butt, PIEER student intern and president of Helping Hands International, University of Northern Iowa Chapter. Dr. Zeman . Dr. Zeman spoke about the importance of children having healthy environmental conditions to support learning and growth. Ms. Kazkaz spoke on the influence students have in spreading awareness to support primary school students in Pakistan. Mr. Butt gave the audience a background of Helping Hands International’s work in Pakistan and presented a short documentary. More than sixty people attended the dinner and helped raise more than $3,000, enough money to cover the construction fees for the school hall in Pakistan! PIEER students worked to plan, promote and setup the event during the course of the semester.