(1888PressRelease)
January 30, 2009 - Twelve year old Maimona, is the first student to receive a high school education grant from YouMe Support Foundation, in Vanuatu. Maimona is the third child in a four child family.
There is no free education system in Vanuatu and only 18% of students get to see the inside of a high school classroom. Because of lack of funds, Maimona's older sister was unable to go to high school. She now sits at home with no qualifications and no prospect of being able to get employment and there is no government assistance for the unemployed.
Maimona's family managed to pull together enough money to put their only son through high school. He says he wants to become a pilot.
Maimona is a hard working, high achieving student, but unless she receives assistance from charities like YouMe Support Foundation, Maimona will end up joining her older sister sitting at home. A lot of families in the tropical islands of Vanuatu live on under $1 per day.
Some villagers from islands in the far north of Vanuatu unsuccessfully attempted to airlift live coconut crabs to Port Vila, the capital, hoping to raise enough money to be able to send their children to school. There is only airline which services the area and it has refused to take the coconut crabs on board. This is in spite of the villagers having raised the money to pay the freight. The airline asserts the live crabs pose a threat, as they are not packaged correctly.
While many people in Vanuatu desire to educate their children, finding the school fees is an ongoing struggle.
YouMe Support Foundation plans to put additional children each year, through an ongoing high school education grant program, working alongside local schools and the education department.
Dr Wendy Stenberg-Tendys and her husband are CEO’s of Win A Resort, (http://winaresort.com) making a difference in children from Lesser Developed Countries. You can be part of this exciting project. Take a few minutes to check it out.
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