CCU announces Summer 2016 Big Read Book
Created in 2004, the Big Read Program was designed to encourage cross-disciplinary dialogue between students, professors and the entire CCU community and to facilitate creative and critical thinking on a common theme. Past reads include "A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention" by Matt Richtel and "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation" by John Carlin.
"Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum" is an autobiographical account of two young people from different sides of the world whose love story is also a story about the fight against poverty and hopelessness. Together, the authors have ignited a movement to transform the lives of vulnerable girls and the urban poor in Africa.
Odede is an internationally recognized human rights activist. He was born and raised in the Kibera slum, the largest slum in Africa. The oldest of eight children, he assumed the responsibility for his family at age 10. Odede and Posner met when she was a 20-year-old Wesleyan University student on a study-abroad trip to Africa. She eventually moved to the slum with Odede, where they worked together to organize a school for girls and a nonprofit service organization called "Shining Hope for Communities." The couple married in 2012.
The book will provide the focus for several activities for incoming freshmen during CCU's Welcome Week 2016, such as group discussions. The Big Read Committee and University College are signing up more than 60 volunteers to assist with group discussion sessions. The sessions will take place directly after the New Student Convocation on Sunday, Aug. 21.