Helping schoolchildren in American Samoa

October 6, 6:09 PMYachting ExaminerSharon Drechsler

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A fellow sailor -- a CLOD (cruiser living on dirt) -- spent almost a year in American Samoa and has found a neat way to help children who lost their schools in the recent tsunami. Deborah Mawhar, Cohort 403 Coordinator for Instructor Institute for Teacher Education in the University of Hawaii’s College of Education is collecting elementary school-level textbooks for Taputapu Elementary in Poloa, Matatula Elementary, Masefau Elementary, Afono Elementary, and Leatele (Fagasa) Elementary—all from the north side of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa.

According to an October 3 report in USA Today, "Across the island, more than 2,000 people are staying in 17 temporary shelters, according to Betty Ah Soon, the public information officer for American Samoa's homeland security office. Hundreds more are staying with family or friends or at informal shelters like the All Peoples church hall."

Mawhar and her University of Hawaii (UH) team have established a “Club” on the U.S.-based Web site, www2.scholastic.com, which will be accepting on-line book orders through Oct. 23. Donors can order one or more books ($1 and up), by going to the website, browsing the online catalogs, selecting the book(s), and paying by credit or debit card. To donate, follow these instructions:

1. Click on http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/home.jsp.
2. Click on “Parents” on the top line and select "book club orders" from the drop-down menu.
3. Type in the User name: dmawhar and Password: books
4. Click on whichever book club catalog you want to order from. You can order from more than one.
5. These five elementary schools experienced devastation from the tsunami. Currently those students are attending other schools nearby, but their library and classroom book collections are gone.

The books will be sent to Mawhar in Honolulu, from where they’ll be forwarded to UH colleagues on the island for distribution. The Web site will also be providing teachers with free books and bonus points for orders. Please order online by October 23.