Many hands make light work of 3,200 school kits in BoliviaMennonite Central Committee PAILON, Bolivia -- Two months after floods swept through this rural area, children were back at school -- with few supplies. While numerous organizations worked to meet needs for housing and employment, "Education [was] one area that seems to be falling through the cracks," wrote Frank and Christine Elias, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers in Pailon. In response, they organized a project to provide area students with notebooks, pens, pencils, eraser and sharpeners.  After purchasing supplies locally with MCC funds, the Eliases called on Mennonites from Colony Cupesi to help organize the material. Twenty-six pairs of willing hands divided and bagged 3,200 kits, including 220 with crayons especially for kindergartners. Pictured are young women from the colony. "It was fun to be part of the enthusiasm that was there," Frank Elias reported. Mennonites from Colony Cupesi also helped distribute the supplies at five schools. Students responded with songs, speeches and enthusiastic hugs, Elias said. He is pictured distributing kits at Colegio Foinini school. School was interrupted for a month after the February flooding, which destroyed about 100 homes and damaged 200 more in Pailon. Many families are still living in government-supplied tents.
For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org |
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