Every year, students stock up on school supplies before entering classes. In some villages of El Salvador, getting supplies at a local superstore is not as easy to do.
To ease the need for some students in El Salvador, the Latino/a Student Cultural Center (LSCC) and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) will be accepting donations of school supplies for elementary schools in the villages of El Salvador whose students cannot afford to buy them. Donations will be accepted until Feb. 28.
According to an article on the NSCS Web site, “Last year at one school, 96 children shared 12 pencils. At another, children erased their notes at night so they could reuse their paper the next day.”
“We’re sending supplies to where there is need,” said Elena Lau, a sophomore international business major and coordinator of the Northeastern’s donations. “We’re asking students to help students over in El Salvador who attend school so they can have materials.”
Although donations have been sparse so far, Lau, a native of Venezuela, expects some assistance from Hillel, the Jewish student organization.
Director of Hillel Beth Meltzer said the organization, along with LSCC, will hold a joint dinner at the Hillel office at 70 St. Stephen St. to help bring together more supplies. All Northeastern students are welcome, but Meltzer said that in order to get into the dinner students must bring supplies to donate.
The students of Hillel have a special tie to El Salvador. Last year, 10 students in the organization spent their spring break helping out in El Salvadorian villages in many capacities, including rebuilding schools and foundations for homes.
“A NSCS staff member is working with International Partners – a non-profit organization that builds partnerships between U.S. supporters and small, grass roots projects in the world’s poorest countries – to provide the children of El Salvador with basic school supplies,” according to a statement on the NSCS Web site.
The school supplies being accepted include paper, pens, No. 2 pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers and books in Spanish, for ages 2-12. Lau says she plans to be more aggressive in soliciting donations from Northeastern students and faculty by posting notices in the bookstore , in residence halls and locations throughout campus.
Donations can be brought to the drop-off box at the Latino Student Cultural Center at 104 Forsyth St. For more information on donations to the school children of El Salvador, call the LSCC at 373-5845.
