UMW graduate a CNN hero for effort to help Honduras

By RUSTY DENNEN

Shin Fujiyama, a 2007 University of Mary Washington graduate and co-founder of Students Helping Honduras, will appear tomorrow night on CNN's "Larry King Live."

The show, also featuring journalist, author and first lady of California Maria Shriver, airs at 9 p.m. The interview will air again at midnight.

Fujiyama, 25, is one of the newest "CNN Heroes"--ordinary people from all walks of life making a big difference in the lives of others.

He is the network's first "Young Wonder" hero for 2009--age 25 or younger and chosen from among nominees across the globe. A taped two-minute segment on Fujiyama will air as part of the Heroes series periodically through the weekend.

Fujiyama and his sister Cosmo, then a student at the College of William & Mary, founded Students Helping Honduras here in 2005 after several trips as volunteers to the Central American nation.

In their travels, they visited the Copprome orphanage and Siete de Abril, a squatter village in the city of El Progreso.

The children at Copprome come from the bottom rung of Honduran society--poor with bleak prospects. Most were abandoned or given up by parents who could not care for them.

The Fujiyamas and Students Helping Honduras in 2007 were featured in a series of stories in The Free Lance-Star.

With substantial help from Fredericksburg philanthropist Doris Buffett's Sunshine Lady Foundation and proceeds from walkathons, bake sales and other fundraisers, SHH paid off Copprome's debt, built a dormitory and classrooms, helped cover medical expenses for the children and established university scholarships for those who leave the orphanage at age 18.

It purchased land to relocate the residents of the village to new homes nearby in Villa Soleada (Sunshine Village) it created.

The 72 families, displaced by Hurricane Mitch in 1999, live in tin-roof shacks with no electricity and parasite-infested water.

Those projects became the focal point of a student-led relief effort born at UMW, with help from the university's Campus Christian Community, local Rotarians and other organizations. To date, SHH has raised more than $750,000.

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This is the network's third year honoring "ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things in their communities and beyond."

Over 3,000 nominations have been received since January.

Last year, 30 heroes were selected. The top 10, selected by CNN, receive $25,000. The hero of the year finalist, selected by viewers, receives another $100,000. Categories include: community crusader, medical marvel, championing children, defending the planet, everyday superhero, young wonder and protecting the powerless.

The CNN.com/Heroes Web page will be updated with Shin Fujiyama's story and videos after his debut on "Larry King Live."

Date published: 5/6/2009

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