Diakonie, ACT Alliance member in Germany, supports work in the Gulf Coast

The grant program was made possible by a generous donation from Diakonie Emergency Aid, a German faith-based humanitarian aid agency and member of Action by Churches Together (ACT). Recipient schools will use the funds to purchase student/teacher supplies, computers, audio/visual equipment, books, musical equipment, and furniture. The 13 schools currently have 15,673 students and 1,839 teachers.

The school recipients are:

• Martin Behrman Elementary (Algiers Charter Schools), New Orleans, LA — Grant amount: $80,000
• Forked Island/E. Broussard Elementary, Abbeville, LA — Grant amount: $35,355
• East Hancock Elementary, Kiln, MS — Grant amount: $7,240
• Franklin Elementary, New Orleans, LA — Grant amount: $61,600
• Gulfview Elementary, Kiln, MS — Grant amount: $38,020
• Hancock High School, Kiln, MS — Grant amount: $102,360
• McMain High School, New Orleans, LA — Grant amount: $60,400
• Orange Grove Elementary, Gulfport, MS — Grant amount: $26,200
• Pascagoula School District, Pascagoula, MS — Grant amount: $122,200
• Resurrection Middle High School, Pascagoula, MS — Grant amount: $20,210
• St. Thomas Elementary, Long Beach, MS — Grant amount: $35, 400
• Watkins Elementary, Lake Charles, LA — Grant amount: $3,100
• Westwood Elementary, Westlake, LA — Grant amount: $7,000

Lesli Remaly, CWS Disaster Response and Recovery Liaison, served as coordinator of the grant application process. "Although this has been an exciting and rewarding opportunity to be able to administer this grant program, the sad reality is that out of the 200 schools that were identified, the destruction was so bad that only 13 were able to apply for this program," says Remaly. "They're just not ready." As of January 1, still only a handful of the 123 schools in New Orleans are in operation. Throughout the Gulf Coast, many schools are functioning in partially damaged buildings or in temporary spaces trying to accommodate as many students as possible. For them, the grant program came as a welcome surprise in a region still grappling with the effects of last year's hurricanes.

Lewis also explained that many of the students recently returned to the area after attending well-equipped schools unaffected by the hurricanes in other parts of the country, mainly Texas. "These students feel and understand, that in some ways they have to work harder to reach their goals," Lewis adds. "The computers will provide a sense of pride in having the same level of access and quality in their educational experience as other schools, especially at a time like this."

The Orange Grove Elementary in Gulfport Mississippi received $26,200, 540 Gift of the Heart School Kits, and 500 blankets. "The students were so excited to see all these boxes stacked up like a pyramid, they couldn't wait to see what was inside," says Stephanie Schepens, a teacher at the school.

90 percent of the students come from low-income families. Schepens explained that many of the children are in homes with mold conditions and in need of extensive repairs. Some are waiting for FEMA temporary housing trailers; some have already been denied. "To see things new and shiny means so much to them," Schepens says. "The school supplies and blankets were like a Christmas some of them never had."