Thursday, September 25, 2008

Donated Book Bags Help Kids In Haiti

PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI (CBS4) ― Life for a child in Haiti is often burdened with heavy responsibilities as the entire family has to pull together if it is to survive by finding water and food at a time when both are in short supply.

Throughout the countryside, a similar scene repeats itself on a daily basis. Children walk long distances to towns to fill buckets with fresh water from pumping stations; they then carry the heavy water laden buckets back to their homes.

When school begins in Haiti in October, about half the children eligible to attend classes will not be able to do so because their parents can't afford it. For those children who will be going to school, many don't have the basic necessities like pencils and paper.

Over the weekend, some lucky children in the capitol city of Port au Prince received brand new book bags filled with school supplies. The backpacks were donated by leaders in Miami through Operation Hope for Haiti and brought by a delegation led by Miami City commissioner Michelle Spence Jones.

For some, like Mouischanes Jean macklay, it was his first bookbag ever.



"It means a lot to me, I have never had a book bag," said Macklay "I will use it."

Another young boy couldn't believe the generosity of the strangers.

"Thank you, thank you, I will use it to go to school," said Bolgalla Dolgi. "Thank you a lot because I didn't have it."

The delegation from Miami handed out more than 100 book bags to children in need; Haiti's school year starts on October 6th. The book bags were part of a larger shipment of hurricane relief supplies which included 51 thousand pounds of food, water and hygiene products.

Source: Cbs4.Com

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