BASSETERRE St. Kitts, May 12th 2011 - At a ceremony early in the morning of May 10, 2011, a Rotary member and Peace Corps Volunteer, Tom Wieland, turned over to Irish Town Primary School Head Teacher, Elvis Charles, and St. Kitts & Nevis Ministry of Education officer, Mrs. Urlene Bloice Roberts, two thousand five hundred packets of copy paper just delivered via Tropical Shipping. The twenty-five cartons, or 125,000 sheets of paper, were given by the Rotary Club of Salisbury, Maryland. The donation was the result of their member, PCV Wieland, joining the Peace Corps last year and notifying them of a need by schools in St. Kitts.
Specifically, Mr. Charles explained about the need for paper relating to his school becoming a UNICEF peaceful school in 2010. This was an effort to reduce corporal punishment in this school, which draws students from an economically depressed portion of Basseterre. At the time this program was begun, this school was one of the schools in the entire Caribbean with a UNICEF established non-violent standard of behavior. As a result of that program, there were brochures, academic contracts, behaviour contracts, and pamphlets produced, which were passed out to students, parents, teachers and the community explaining the standards. Over time, the supply of literature had run out and there was not enough money to continue the program. Mr. Charles was reduced to listing the rules on a chalkboard outside of his office (see picture). New students and parents had difficulty understanding the rules and expectations.
Additionally, it was very difficult for teachers to produce class support literature and tests given the lack of paper and electronics. PCV Wieland had repaired and setup a small computer lab which students could use to further their studies and break time enjoyment. When he asked to produce papers supporting that effort, he learned that paper was very limited and sometimes not even available as a lot of paper is used for the school’s after school programmes and in school programmes. When he contacted his Rotary members back in Maryland about the situation, they quickly responded with the offer of paper. It should be noted that this Rotary Club has an extensive history of international as well as local aid to educational efforts. The club was more than happy to assist in this effort and shortly more paper will be delivered to the school.
Both Mrs. Roberts and Mr. Charles have expressed great appreciation and thanks for the donation. Even the children participated in the ceremony and were happy with the generous donation. We will see how happy they are when they find out that there may be more tests as a result of the donation.
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