Hands Across the Sea Aims to Help the Caribbean
Why did Hands Across the Sea choose the Caribbean?
The Caribbean, as everyone knows, is a beautiful place. The sunny sprinkling of islands offers gorgeous aquamarine water brimming with tropical fish, coral reefs, and world-class dive sites, all ringed by sugar-sand beaches. The entire region is truly a vacation paradise, as evidenced by the multitude of luxury cruise ships and four-star resorts. So the Caribbean is a beautiful place, right? Of course it is.
But if you step off the cruise-ship tour or venture beyond the gates of the resort into nearby villages, neighborhoods, and local schools, you'll discover that the Caribbean is also a real place beset by real problems. High levels of poverty and unemployment, and low levels of literacy — especially among young boys — are having a debilitating effect on the fabric of modern Caribbean society. Low literacy levels sharply curtail the chances of primary- and secondary-school children moving into fulfilling lives free of drugs and gang violence. The disturbing effects of low literacy on children in the Caribbean are well-documented by the World Bank and the U.S. Peace Corps. And of course we've seen it all firsthand during our hands-on work with school teachers, principals, and U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers. It comes down to this: What does the future hold for a 15-year-old boy or girl who has not learned to read?
Here's how Hands Across the Sea is fighting low literacy: We ask school teachers, principals, and U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Caribbean to assemble a Wish List of books and materials they need (www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsWishLists.htm), and then we get what they need, and then we ship it to them. This October, as part of our Caribbean Literacy and School Support (CLASS) program (www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsPrograms.htm), Hands will ship approximately 43,000 books and 92 boxes of teaching materials to 47 schools, 10,000 students, and eight community libraries/reading projects.
Perhaps you're thinking, "This seems like a worthy cause, but what can I do?" Here's some awesome news: we've just received a $25,000 "challenge grant" commitment from two generous Hands supporters. Which means that the way you can help children in the Caribbean right now is to make a cash donation to Hands Across the Sea, with the aim of matching the $25,000 grant and realizing our $50,000 goal, so Hands can fulfill all of the 2010 Wish Lists and bring positive change to thousands of Caribbean children. To make a donation, please click here: www.handsacrossthesea.net/Donate.htm
If you'd like to know the answer to the question we posed at the beginning -- Why did Hands choose the Caribbean? -- you'll find the answer, as well as some great photos of Caribbean kids and classrooms, online at the latest Hands Log: www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsLog.htm
Thank you for caring and for your support!
T.L. & Harriet Linskey
Hands Across the Sea, Inc.
Website: www.handsacrossthesea.net
Donate to Hands: www.handsacrossthesea.net/Donate.htm
Check the latest Hands news: www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsLog.htm
Caribbean Literacy and School Support (CLASS): www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsPrograms.htm
See the 2010 Wish Lists: www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsWishLists.htm
NEW! What Hands Does: www.handsacrossthesea.net/WhatHandsDoes.htm
NEW! The Hands Goals: www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsGoals.htm
NEW! Meet the Hands Crew: www.handsacrossthesea.net/HandsCrew.htm
