Last week, the Item covered an extraordinary event in Picayune.
Young students took to the streets of downtown Picayune to raise awareness about a disease many adults may know nothing about.
However, the children who attend St. Charles Borromeo’s Catholic School are very familiar with the terms ALS and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
For the past few years, the school has hosted their own awareness walk for ALS. According to school officials, this disease has affected many families connected to the school.
Ask any student at St. Charles and they will probably tell you that they walk because ALS patients can’t.
Some of the students knew this disease robs a person of his or her ability to control the muscles in their body, which can lead to death.
It’s not always easy to explain death and disease to children.
However, the teachers at St. Charles are doing a wonderful job educating these children about ALS and advocating for patients dealing with this incurable disease.
Participation in these events will hopefully create a desire within these children to strive to learn about disease, be tolerant of those suffering from disabilities and be thankful for the health and well being of their loves ones.
Events like these prove that our children are learning much more than the basic school subjects in this area’s schools.
They are learning life lessons that they can carry with them long after they have graduated.
The teachers at St. Charles are doing a wonderful job of teaching these students about compassion and lesser–known diseases.
It’s possible that a child growing up in Pearl River County may discover the cure for ALS.