SEATTLE—
More than half of the people living in Haiti live on $1.25 per day.With very little money to pay for shelter and food, western Washington residents are helping pick up the tab for 1,000 kids' school supplies.
Schools have been working hard to rebuild since the earthquake six months ago, setting up classrooms in tents and trying to gather supplies.
They've found out there are virtually no notebooks, pencils and basic school supplies.
World Concern workers in Haiti got the word out about what was needed. And boy have people responded.
They're loading a freight container with "Kids Healing Kits" crammed full of desks donated from Washington State University and other school supplies.
Included in the shipment are desks, uniforms and school supplies for more than 1,300 children.
All items are donated; the vast majority of donors are from here in Washington.
"Every single inch of the container is going to be utilized to the maximum potential," said Susan Talbot of World Concern. "It's great because it is going to be arriving right before school starts."
"It's very cool to see all these come together," says Derek Sciba, spokesperson for World Concern, "and to see that these are actually going to be going to the kids and making a difference in the lives of so many children."
Soon the freight container will go by rail car to New York, where it'll get loaded on a barge and arrive in Port-Au-Prince in mid-August.
Since the powerful quake, World Concern has helped repair more than 500 homes and given Haitians more than 1,000 grants to rebuild their lives.
