Children in Nicaragua have school supplies, and local University and elementary school students have cleaner desks, thanks to a Carbondale resident’s recent project.

Elsie Speck, of Carbondale said the purpose of the Project Clean Your Desk was to gather new and used school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, paper, crayons and other school material for the children in Nicaragua.

It gives Americans a chance to clean out their desks and help the Nicaraguan children, Speck said.

Advertisement

This is the 10th year the project has been supported by the Quixote Center, a religious agency in Maryland that works with poverty-stricken countries.

Ellen Lynch, coordinator of Quest for Peace at the Quixote Center, said they started Project Clean Your Desk because there was a need for school supplies in the rural areas of Nicaragua recently torn by war.

The government provides salaries ($50/month) for the teachers but no supplies, Lynch said.

Project Clean Your Desk provides a lifeline for rural education and for all the communities which depend upon a simple pen, crayon, paper or marker to help people communicate and learn, Lynch said.

Speck said she raised $250 for postage for the 500 pounds of school supplies that were shipped to a warehouse in Virginia to be sent to rural areas in Nicaragua.

Lynch said last year they sent 3,000 boxes of school supplies and the goal for this year is 4,000.

The Institute of John XXIII on the campus of the Jesuit University in Managua, Nicaragua, distributes the supplies to the people who bore the brunt of the violent contra war, she said.

Advertisement*

The unemployment rate in Nicaragua is about 60 percent and it is difficult for children to get school supplies, Speck said.

With a country in such economic strain, they cannot afford to buy school supplies, she said.

Lynch said the rural area of Nicaragua is very poor and the people are suffering from drought.

There is not a lot of rain and it is hard to raise crops, she said.

Lynch said about 3,000 children will benefit from the donated supplies.

Speck said she is involved because she wants to help relieve human suffering.

The country is very poor, and since we have these supplies, we can donate them to help their children, Speck said. If you see people in need, it’s good to try and help out.

Next year Speck said she plans to get local high schools involved.

We will hit the high schools for supplies next year because I heard on the last day of school they throw all of their supplies away, she said.