Partners for World Health arranges delivery

Camden Rockport Middle School donates desks and books to Haiti

Sun, 08/30/2015 - 10:45am

    CAMDEN — Camden Rockport Middle School made a donation of desks and books to a school in Haiti Aug. 28. Kristin Nelson, who serves as the school nurse, coordinated the effort with Partners for World Health, a Portland based organization.

    Nelson said the desks have been around for a few years, collecting dust.

    “They look a little dated, but they are fully functional,” she said. 

    Nelson contacted Partners for World Health and asked them if they had a good place for the desks to go.

    “At first we thought they were going to Africa, but Haiti seemed to work out better,” she said.

    Elizabeth McLellan grew up in Camden, attended Mary E. Taylor School and went on to became a nurse. Six years ago she founded Partners for World Health. That organization brought her back to the Camden Rockport Middle School Aug. 28 to take delivery of the desks destined for Haiti.

    “We collect discarded medical supplies from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts,” said McLellan. “We reprocess them and ship them to countries in Africa and Asia.”

    McLellen said that when Nelson contacted her, she was interested in the desks.

    “We’ve already made one shipment of desks to Bangladesh,” she said. “This is our second school and it will be in Port au Prince. We’re really excited to be able to participate with this.” 

    “There’s a company out of New York that is coming down to load the materials into a truck,” said McLellan. “It will go into a big container load there and be shipped to Haiti. There is absolutely no cost to the school.”

    Partners in Health is always looking for volunteers.