A South Carolina based charity is sending boxes packed with supplies to public school classrooms in the remote Outer Islands of Micronesia.
"Habele," an all-volunteer nonprofit in Columbia, has been supporting students and educators in the Central Pacific island nation of Micronesia since 2006. Founded by returned Peace Corps Volunteers, the group targets it's donations to the most remote islands and atolls in the Micronesian states of Chuuk and Yap.
"These materials -just the most basic supplies for instruction and classroom activities- are sorely needed by students and teachers," explained Habele President Neil Mellen who served as a teacher in Yap State for three school years. "We are grateful that so many generous donors in the United States have committed to investing in the educational aspirations of Pacific Island students."
The boxes, filled with over $600.00 in pens, pencils, markers, whiteboards and note cards, are headed to public schools on the islands of Falalop and Mogmog on the Ulithi Atoll as well as Falalop and Falalus ( or "Falilus") on the Woleai Atoll. These islands are situated slightly above the equator, south and southeast of the American Territory of Guam.
Materials are being sent to both elementary and high schools. Peace Corps volunteers who live and work on these remote islands will distribute the supplies.
Habele also provides tuition scholarships to students from these and other islands who attend private K-12 schools in state capitals. This school year Habele issued 17 full tuition scholarships to low-income Outer Island students attending prestigious independent schools on Yap Proper, Weno, Chuuk, and in the Micronesian national capital of Pohnpei.
Those interested in supporting Habele can visit www.habele.org to learn more.
