New School Benefits Struggling Youth
Springdale Rotarians Help Furnish, Equip Facility For Impoverished Children in Mexico
Last updated Saturday, August 18, 2007 9:06 PM CDT in Our Town
By Bettina Lehovec
THE MORNING NEWS
SPRINGDALE -- Members of the Springdale Rotary Club traveled to Mexico in April to deliver wheelchairs, not school supplies.
But the plight of a local school got their attention. About 180 children studied in a dilapidated shack perched on the edge of a steep hill. It had mesh wire for windows, a tar paper roof and cast-off textbooks from more affluent schools.
"If you've ever heard of a tar paper shack, this was it," said Marc Van Pelt, president of Springdale Rotary. "The kids were learning in this situation that none of our kids would even consider -- and none of our parents would allow."
A Rotarian in Zihuatanejo spearheaded a project to build a new school -- and Northwest Arkansas Rotarians got involved. Last month, they sent several thousand dollars to buy furnishings and plumbing fixtures. They'll continue to be involved, although they are not sure yet in what way.
The school serves children in a poverty stricken part of Zihuatanejo, a town of 80,000 on the Pacific coast. Noel Morris, another Springdale Rotary member, called the children's parents "squatters" and said they've recently arrived from rural farms to try and eke out a living in the city.
"NAFTA's not been really fair to these people," Morris said. The free trade agreement has put many small farmers out of work. They move to cities like Zihuatanejo, populating the barren hillsides and doing their best to get by. Some work at fishing while others work in the resort town of Ixtapa, 10 miles away.
When Springdale Rotary members visited the school, they were struck by the level of commitment from children, parents and teachers alike. The parents had built the school themselves, piecing it together from scrap lumber and salvaged materials. The children were neat and clean in their hand-me-down uniforms of white shirts and black shorts. Some of the finest teachers in the area had volunteered to work there.
"It was a very sad situation -- until I saw the kids and the teachers trying to look beyond all that," Van Pelt said. "I saw the parents engaged, the children engaged and top-notch teachers engaged."
The community has continued to be involved in building the new school. Parents and children have done much of the work themselves, Van Pelt said. Government officials donated the land, while government money and private donations covered the cost of materials. A government grant will provide computers and Internet technology.
The brand new school will be ready next week, awaiting pupils in grades 1-6. They'll attend in shifts, since the three rooms can't accommodate all the children at one time. School officials hope to add another three rooms, but that will take additional funding they don't yet have.
Springdale Rotarians visited Zihuatanejo as part of an ongoing effort to provide wheelchairs to the needy in developing countries. They distributed 100 wheelchairs to people gathered in the town square for the occasion, and left another 180 for people in outlying areas.
The local club has distributed 4,000 chairs -- more than $100,000 worth -- in the past five years. They're a national leader in the Rotary effort to aid The Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to provide wheelchairs around the globe.
Other local Rotary clubs have gotten involved. Members from Rogers, Bentonville and several other clubs have accompanied Springdale Rotarians on their trips.
At A Glance
Springdale Rotary
To learn more about the Zihuatanejo school project and how to get involved, call Noel Morris at 751-7555 or Marc Van Pelt at 751-5222.
Information about the Wheelchair Foundation is available from the same men or at www.wheelchairfoundation.org.
Source: Staff Report
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