School aids Vietnamese children

RED BANK - On March 20, Red Bank Charter School (RBCS) parent and board of trustees President Bruce Whitaker will head to Kien Giang province in Vietnam on a humanitarian expedition, continuing the connection the school has with a village in Vietnam.

Last year, Whitaker's daughter's class studied Vietnam as part of International Day at RBCS, and as part of their service

learning project, the students raised over $1,000 to buy 25 bicycles for children in Kien Giang.

Each year, Whitaker and his family attend a Vietnamese cultural camp run by the Catalyst Foundation inMinnesota.

At last year's camp, the head of the foundation described this year's expedition. In 12 days, more than 60 volunteers on the expedition will provide medical exams for a few hundred children and grownups who will stand in line for hours, start the construction of new homes in Kien Giang, a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and visit local schools to exchange good will and cultural gifts, deliver bikes for children, and distribute tons of food for hundreds of families.

More than 300 children are presently living in the garbage dump in Kien Giang. These children work from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day picking through the garbage to raise money to buy food for their families, according to Whitaker.

The ultimate goal of the foundation is to provide housing and an education to each of these children. For only $2,000, the foundation, in concert with Habitat for Humanity, can build a house for a family.

Whitaker has already raised more than $4,600 in donations. Additionally, his daughter's class will be assembling gift bags of toothpaste, toothbrushes, pencils and other items for the children at the school.

For more information on the outreach, visit the Catalyst Foundation Web site at www.catalystfounda tion.org.