
This past Saturday, July 26th, 11 members and Willie (Kim’s husband) spent the day at ACE (All Children Educated), a school that serves children ineligible to enter St. Maarten’s public school system. ACE does not receive any public financial support, and relies heavily on the donations and charity of private organizations. Given their lack of funding, ACE has been doing a wonderful job educating St. Maarten’s less privileged. This school is a simple one-story, concrete complex, consisting of three main classrooms. The conditions of the school are by no means what you would expect of a learning facility. Cracking walls, broken windows, dirt-laden floors, no air conditioning, and poorly-functioning restroom facilities stand out; we can only wonder what the children notice. Needless to say, ACE was in need of a makeover.
The members who took part in this community service project accomplished great tasks. After cleaning them down, all walls in every classroom were completely painted over in a soft yellow color, brightening up the rooms. The blackboards were repainted, erasing years of wear and tear. Old windows and frames were knocked out of the wall, and brand new replacement windows were installed. In addition, a broken ceiling fan was replaced with a new one. There is still much work that needs to be done, but the work that Phi Chi did was a phenomenal start to revamping this institute of learning.
A big thank you to Kim, our Community Service Chair, for organizing every aspect of the event - from making contact with the ACE school to acquiring donations from Ace Hardware and Kooyman. Thank you, also, to Willie for donating his time and expertise in guiding our efforts, and for going back and forth from the stores to ACE, providing our supplies. Thanks to all the members who took part in this day and for generously giving of yourselves to serve others. Your hard work will be rewarded in September with the countless smiles that will paint the faces of the children at ACE. Job well done!
Pictures are posted for your viewing pleasure at our PHOTO PAGE.