PUNTA GORDA, FL, August 1, 2003. Boaters for Books Directors Kathy and Dick Oberle returned following five months in the Eastern Caribbean to the exciting but daunting task of sorting, packing and labeling more than 8,000 donated books received in Florida during the spring. Volunteers Edie Smith and Laura Roberts were responsible for collecting hundreds of surplus books from the Sarasota Department of Education. Dawn Castro had conducted a wonderfully successful Girl Scout book drive in Ohio. University of Maine Honors graduates had sent boxes of storybooks new and gently used. Individual volunteers throughout the States had sent handfuls of stories and small donations. The Moorings, one of the world's largest charter operations (www.Moorings.com) officially endorsed Boaters for Books this summer. The Moorings is sharing the Boaters for Books story with thousands of its owners and clients worldwide. Continuing publicity and a steady stream of donations have enabled Boaters for Books to expand its horizons.
While in the Caribbean, Kathy appeared on local radio talk shows in Dutch St. Martin in the Leeward Islands to spread the story of Boaters for Books. The Oberles also investigated literacy needs on neighboring Anguilla and coordinated the donation of several hundred books for the Public Library on Nevis, a community outreach project of a Maryland teenager.
Meanwhile, 200 miles southeast of St. Martin, sailing colleagues Karen Light and Dann Hewitt on Starry Night went ashore in Prince Rupert Bay on the island of Dominica to investigate the Roosevelt Douglas Primary School in the town of Portsmouth. What they discovered encouraged us to quickly adopt this financially strapped Democratic country. The fiscal crisis in Dominica has left many primary schools without reading books!
Teacher Cynthia Joseph explained the situation to Kathy Oberle, "I was sent to this school in September [2002] and was surprised to find it in this state. No library. No computers. I am trying to make this place more conducive to learning. We have since re-located a class to make room for a library. We have built shelves and are working feverishly to have our library working by next year. Your donation will definitely help us to realize our goal."
Following up on Karen and Dann's discovery, Lori on Pride developed a Ham radio contact in William Charles at the Dominica Lions' Club. The Lions' Club volunteered to receive and distribute books on Dominica. Later, Melodye and John Pompas aboard Second Millenium, discovered another primary school desperate for books (St. John’s Primary School). Melodye and John run the Caribbean Safety & Security Net, which monitors security issues from the Dominican Republic to Venezuela and communicates them via single side band daily. Melodye has been instrumental in spreading the word about Boaters for Books throughout the Caribbean community. All book recipients remain in email contact with Kathy Oberle, specifying their needs and working out details of how the books will be received and distributed.
Another 200 miles southeast of Dominica, new recipients were discovered in Bequia and on the mainland of St. Vincent. Bequia Community High School Principal Elaine Ollivierre reported that she received funds to hire a library assistant and refurbish the old school library. Bequia Primary Schools will have full access to this "new" library. Boaters for Books is helping with donations from various sources, including the Peekskill Rotary Club, whose President Charlie Gruetzner is an avid sailor. The books collected by the Mahopac High School Literacy Volunteers will also find a home in Bequia, as well as in Dominica.
Grace Jacobs in Shapleigh, Maine conducted a book drive at her daughter's local school to coincide with the National Education Association's "Read Across America" campaign. It was easy for Grace to help identify the Bishop’s College Primary School in Kingstown, St. Vincent as a needy recipient; she used to volunteer there as a Peace Corps worker. Local St. Vincent & the Grenadines Boaters for Books director Heather Grant called Principal Samantha Minors, who is thrilled that someone remembered the school and is delighted at the donation.A short distance from the Grenadines, Boaters for Books discovered a wonderful remedial reading program on the island of Carriacou, which is part of Grenada. The reading program is orchestrated by 81 year-old, British born author Margaret Allen, a retiree of the U.S. postal service. Margaret was in desperate need of books this month and could not wait for our fall shipment. To expedite books, Kathy contacted Heather Grant on Union Island and sailing friends Joan Hamner and Bob Welch, on Viking Rose in nearby Tobago Cays.
Within a week, Heather had pulled together an assortment of beginning reading books for Helen's program from the shipment of books sent to Union last season. Joan and Bob sailed the books from Union to Carriacou and delivered them to Susan Hopper at Tyrell Bay Haul Out. Susan delivered them to Margaret the next day. The wonderful story of Margaret's mission is printed here to give you insight into what is being accomplished to improve literacy among the children of the Caribbean.
I had barely arrived on the island when it became known that I had teaching qualifications and I was pressed into service to teach English and English literature at Bishop's College, one of the two Secondary Schools here. I did this for four terms as no other teacher was available. From that it became common practice for students, young and old to come and ask for help with English, prior to examinations. One year ago it was decided that all the children in the primary schools would automatically pass up to the Secondary Schools regardless of their ability. My personal strong opinion is that this was an utter disaster, however, that could not be allowed to take away from the slower children that chance to learn to read and I was approached and ask to organize a program for them. It seemed to me that the place to start was in the pre-schools and even in the nursery schools so we now have a basic reading program going in the six primary schools and their kindergarten branches. The program I bought in the U.S. is called "Zoophonics" and the children learn to read by associating the phonic sound of the initial letter of the animal's name with that letter of the alphabet. At the end of the first year some progress has been made. I do not yet know how many non-readers will be coming up to the Secondary Schools in Sept, hopefully less and less as the years go by. Their needs are for Primary Readers (like) Books 1 and 2, such as "Lucky Bear" which you included in this consignment. The ex-patriots here are most supportive of the program for which I am very grateful - as grateful as we all are for the books so generously donated by your organization. I was thrilled when Susan delivered them to me today and will arrange for a lockable closet in the library and a proper system of checking them out to the students. Hopefully they will be the “cornerstone” of the end of illiteracy in Carriacou. Now in my 81st year, perhaps I will have more time to continue with the reason for my retirement here, to write. In 7 years I have managed to get two books published and one more being printed. They are available on the I/net at Barnes and Noble and Amazon Books and being Caribbean based give readers an insight into life on a small island.
Again, many, many thanks for the thoughtfulness of all your contributors and especially to yourself and those who have made the delivery possible. Margaret Allan
BFB note: If you would like to make a specific donation to Margaret Allen's reading program so that we can acquire the books she needs to continue her mission, please earmark your check or donation "Carriacou Remedial Reading."