"Donated Dictionaries Helping College Bound Chuukese"
/By: Neil Mellen
Habele Outer Island Education Fund
(Weno, Chuuk) Students attending Chuuk High School have sent their thanks to Habele for donating English language dictionaries. The US-based charity provided the texts when approached by Vice Principal Jason Reiong.
Reiong wrote to Habele in late 2012, explaining: "I read about your organization in the Kaselehie Press and I was very happy with what your organization has being doing for all the schools across Micronesia. I am writing to ask if your charity could help our students at CHS with some dictionaries, such as those you've
provided to students in Yap." The US based charity was happy to respond to the request.
Over the last several months, Habele volunteers and their partners obtained the dictionaries and sent them to Chuuk. The cost of postage and processing was funded by the European based electronic payments firm "Yapital." On his end, Reiong navigated the donated boxes through customs, the post office and the school system's own bureaucracy. He explains that the timing of the arrival allowed the dictionaries to be used by students preparing for their state and district achievement tests.
"Since the students started using the dictionaries -both in the class and at their homes in the evenings- we've seen the scores on the local assessment increase," Vice Principal Reiong explained in a gracious letter to Habele volunteers. "The higher scores, and the rise in our College of Micronesia (COM) admission rate are possible because of the thoughtful contributions from people like you."
"That is a humbling claim," insisted Alex Sidles, a Habele Director who formerly served as a teacher on Unanu, in the Namonweito Atoll. "I think the real credit goes to the hard working educators and pupils in Weno who've made the most of the dictionaries. We happy to have helped them do just that."
Contact: Neil Mellen
Habele Outer Island Education Fund
US 803 586 2358
FM 691 951 1151