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PATO'S MARKETPLACE click here
Guy Benjamin Elementary School/
ArawakRoots Sister School Project
The Guy Benjamin Elementary School is located in Coral Bay, St. John in the US Virgin Islands. It houses grades K-6 and is named for St. John's greatest educator who, at age 95, is still very active in the Coral Bay community. With a couple hundred kids in attendance and at the far-east end of the island, it is often called "the forgotten School" of the Virgin Islands school system. There are times when just locating basic school supplies for the children can be a problem.
Inspired by his daughter Caitlin, Pato launched the Sister School Project in 2001. Over the years, we have collected thousands of dollars for school supplies for the children. Every year in early August and again in the Spring, we begin our fund drive. After collecting monetary donations from good people like you, we search out the lowest prices on school supplies, purchase as much as we can, and ship them to St. John. You can just imagine the smiles and wide eyes of the children when package upon package arrives from the continent with things just for them!
Every Spring, somewhere between March 15-April 15, the Coral Bay Yacht Club sponsors the annual FLOTILLA/BEACH PARTY that begins in Coral Bay and ends at Vie's Beach on the East End for a beach party, bar-b-que, raffle with live music! All proceeds go to benefit Guy Benjamin Elementary School. In previous years, this benefit has replaced all of the school's playground equipment as well as replaced alot of the broken-down equipment at the school. 2008's Flotilla- held March 15- collected close to $15,000 to benefit the school.
The following is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Mar. 24 edition of the St. John TRADEWINDS:
Schoolchildren enjoyed sailing on Coral Bay's oldest and largest vessel, SILVER CLOUD, and residents arrived by both land and water to support the local public school.
"We had 30 kids on board Silver Cloud and they had a blast," said Flotilla chairman and CBYC commodore Dave Dostall. "We had about 10 boats participate in the sailing part of the day, and over 50 people went on the smaller boats." [eds. note: People take advantage of the great deal on the day sail- many of the captains being day-sail charters donating their day to the cause. The captain of the Silver Cloud, Elliot Hooper, jumps on board right away every year because he has a great day sailing the kids over. Hooper, who also owns TALL SHIP TRADING, made the Flotilla T-shirts which feature GBS students surrounding Mr. Guy Benjamin.]
The school's principal Dionne Wells, stayed busy cooking and serving food along with other members of the PTO. Event-goers had the choice of West Indian cuisine or 'dogs and burgers' on the grill. Wells said, "It was my first flotilla, and it went very well. There was lots of food, good music (provided by KOKO & the SUNSHINE BAND) and the ambience was great. We are grateful for the support of the community."
Wells' ultimate goal for the funds is to purchase a modular unit to use as a temporary cafeteria at the school. The current cafeteria leaks and is unsanitary. The money was raised through a raffle with a cash prize, crab races, the ticket sales and t-shirt sales. "A couple years ago, we raised a good bit of money for the playground, then the VI government came through with playground funds, so we ended up buying new desks and chairs for the entire school. Some of the desks had been there since the teachers were students," said Dostall.
"Guy Benjamin is a small school way out here and I think it gets forgotten by St. Thomas and the Cruz Bay end of the island," Dostall continued. "It needs somebody to keep an eye on it and help out every now and then." Wells said, "We thank the Yacht Club, the Coral Bay Community Council, and the many volunteers. I enjoyed it and the kids enjoyed it, which is the most important part."
You can still help out! T-shirts are still available for $20 plus shipping. Contact Pato if you'd like one or call Dave at (340) 643-2630!
ArawakRoots prez Pato volunteered his time on the Silver Cloud and on the beach by helping keep a watchful eye on the 30 or so children, keeping them safe. Pato had some unique angles to shoot video of the event both onboard and from the "lifegaurd perch" on the beach. He has edited it down to the best 20 minutes of footage and is making it available in DVD format for only $8 plus shipping! All proceeds donated to the Flotilla Fund for the school. Enjoy some beautiful views and happy, smiling faces of St. John while donating to the children of GBS! Click below to hear an audio sample from the DVD of Delroy "Ital" Anthony on board the Silver Cloud, chanting and playing his drum as they sailed the breadth of Coral Bay. The sounds of the children and the wind and waves almost put you there!
2008 Coral Bay Flotilla demo-click here.
Contact: Pato for all the info!
To view our original Sisterschool page, CLICK HERE!
Give Thanks and Praises to the Most High !
 ARAWAKROOTS HOMEPAGE, click here
"But , 'Man can not live by bread alone'. Man , after all , is also composed
of intellect and soul. Therefore , education must aim to provide beyond the
physical , food for the intellect and soul. That education which ignores man's
intrinsic nature and neglects his intellect and reasoning power cannot be
considered true education".
H.I.M. Haile I Selassie I
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