Kolonia Elementary School needs your help!
The school’s library desperately needs books, both for students, as well as for their parents and other community members who enjoy reading.
Kolonia Elementary School (KES) is located in the heart of Kolonia Town, state capital of Phonpei, Micronesia. It serves 600 students, from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, from all around Pohnpei –including the outer islands. It also enrolls children from the Philippines and Fiji living with their families on Pohnpei, making it one of the most diverse schools in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).
Along with the Principal, Vice Principal and Librarian, KES is served by over 40 dedicated teachers, educators, and regular volunteers. In the fall of 2017, Parent Teacher Association President Richard Porter reached out to Habele, a US-based nonprofit that organizes financial and in-kind donations for students throughout the Freely Associated States.
Mr. Porter explained:
We are in the process of getting our school's library up and running for all students, but are seriously lacking books for the students…
KES Library would love to have books, especially those catering to Kindergarten through Eighth graders (fiction and non-fiction) to include reference books and magazines. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated!
You can help put books in the hands of these eager readers.
If you can purchase or gather books, please do so. Then provide Habele with the weight, dimensions, and a rough packing list of the closed box. Habele will mail you pre-paid postage, address labels, and customs paperwork in a sealed pouch to affix to the outside of the box. You can take the box to the US Post Office, bypassing the lines, and drop it off at the counter for its journey to Pohnpei.
If you’d prefer to make a financial donation, then Habele (a US-based IRS recognized nonprofit) will use the money to pay for the shipment of others’ book donations to the school.
Habele was established by former Peace Corps Volunteers –many of them classroom teachers and librarians- and other Americans looking to provide targeted support for students and schools across Micronesia. We are proud of our decade of work advancing educational opportunity through scholarships, exchanges, robotics, extracurricular programs, and assistance to libraries throughout the FAS.
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