The Southern Illinoisan of Carbondale, Illinois

Hard lessons, hopeful message: MWAH! performs for De Soto students

By Blackwell Thomas, newsroom@mywebtimes.com, 815-433-2000

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 11:36 PM CD

DE SOTO - Students at De Soto grade school crammed into their gymnasium Tuesday morning for an assembly and were promptly treated to a lesson on how not to treat someone.

When Yusuf Taraki, a native of Afghanistan and student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, spoke to introduce himself he was quickly interrupted. Moments after he began speaking, Taraki was heckled by a young man telling him to go back to his own country.

"Terrorist!" the young heckler screamed in front of the crowd, which was made up of teachers and middle school students. "This is America. Go back to your own country."

The incident was, in fact, staged, and Turaki, whose name is actually Solaiman Rashid, and the heckler are both part of a Chicago-based youth performance troupe whose mission it is to help teach life lessons in entertaining fashion.

"My name is actually Solaiman, and I am not from Afghanistan, but I am a Muslim from Palestine," Rashid said to the students after the heckler was dragged out of the gym. "We are all different races and religions. Nobody deserves to be treated that way."

Rashid and the heckler, Nathan Pealstrom, are part of Messages Which Are Hopeful!, a 20-member performance group that tours schools across the state.

The performances combine sketches, speeches and music in the hopes of dealing with tough social issues said, Beth Oechsel of MWAH!

"They deal with relevant social issues for teens like child abuse, drinking and driving, their self image and bullying," she said, before adding that the mixed format incorporates music, singing and acting has been a success. "It reaches kids."

History teacher Jenny Finney agreed. Shortly before the show, Finney said she saw the troupe last year and the school began a fundraising effort to bring it to De Soto.

Through several bake sales and a couple of donations from the state and a private business, students in fifth through eighth grades raised the $1,480 needed to bring the group to De Soto.

"This is also a culmination of things because my sixth and eighth grades were in a bullying class this year," she said. "This just helps with social and emotional learning issues students deal with."

blackwell.thomas@thesouthern.com