Good news. We are closing in on the Bishop Maginn Amazon Security Wish List

There are two items left on the list, Walkie Talkies for $35.99 each (5), Red Emergency backpacks at $21.98 each (3).

The first aid kits, kid’s ladders, winter emergency blankets, and other items suggested by the police to make the school more secure have all been purchased and are on their way, and thank you.

With these remaining items – three backpacks and five walkie-talkies for the teachers – the school can be as secure as it is possible for them to be, given their resources and circumstances.

No school wants to be a fortress and this is the saddest wishlist the school and I have worked together on. It’s troubling to wonder what the students will make of their emergency escape and communications equipment.

But everyone has learned from past experience that they are essential.

Many have suffered harassment and worse in the last couple of years, as anti-immigrant and refugee rhetoric has escalated. One student at Bishop Maginn was hospitalized after being beaten in her public school, another had his hair set on fire by other students.

Many reported being shouted at in or on the way to school, some have been told to “go back home.”

Harassment is no stranger to them, most suffered horrific persecutions and violence in their home countries or refugee camps.

The backpacks are critical so the teachers can carry some food, first aid supplies and emergency and family phone numbers. The walkie-talkies are essential so the teachers can talk to one another and to first responders outside.

Still, this is the country we are living in, we are all trying to make it better. Please consider finishing off this sad but very important wishlist. We’re just about there. These kids deserve to be safe and protected. At the moment, that is in our hands.

You can check out the few remaining items here.