E-mail this page Reader Comments (below)

Sunday, November 17, 2003

CUMBERLAND — If each student at Greely High School forgoes one soda and one candy bar this year, the school could raise enough money to help four Guatemalan children spend their days in a classroom instead of laboring in a garbage dump. That's the message Jason Moyer-Lee, a senior, is conveying to his 660 fellow students as he speaks to individual classes this month.

Moyer-Lee shows students a video about Safe Passage, a program started by 1988 Greely graduate Hanley Denning to aid the children of families so poor they make their living scavenging in the Guatemala City garbage dump.

The youngsters comb through garbage each day in search of food and things to sell, instead of learning to read and write. Safe Passage enables them to go to school so they can break free of the poverty that traps their parents.

"Luckily, it's very easy to help," Moyer-Lee told a class of about 30 students. He said that if each student contributes just $2 this year - that's the price of a soda and candy bar - the school could raise more than enough to enable four children to attend school. The annual cost to sponsor a child, covering books, a school uniform and a hot lunch, is $300 per child.

The fund-raising effort at Greely is one of a growing number of initiatives under way by Mainers to aid the children of the Guatemala city dump. Several funding efforts were launched after a story in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram in August about Denning. A Yarmouth resident, Denning started Safe Passage four years ago after seeing the children at the dump. Other media outlets also have spread the word about Safe Passage, which now serves 325 children, ages 5 to 16.

And Denning - who needs to raise $240,000 each year to ensure Safe Passage continues and grows to include even more children - returns periodically to Maine to give talks to community and church groups about the children and their needs. Her words - and her work - have inspired listeners to donate money, time and services.

"As much impact as Hanley has in Guatemala, I think she's also having an impact here," said Jane Gallagher, a Yarmouth resident who volunteers to arrange local events and promotion for Safe Passage. "By telling the Safe Passage story here and seeing how people respond, she's changing lives here, too."

Examples of fund-raising efforts include a recent benefit concert at the First Universalist Church in Yarmouth and a drive in the Yarmouth schools to collect backpacks and school supplies. Yarmouth Elementary School students will make crafts to send to their Guatemalan counterparts Saturday. Also on that day, Moyer-Lee's parents are hosting a reception for Safe Passage at their home, where guests can donate money or services.

Support for Safe Passage has spread beyond the area where Denning grew up. For example, the Grand Central Cafe in Waterville held a benefit dinner for Safe Passage. Also, students from Bowdoin College in Brunswick - Denning's alma mater - and The New School in Kennebunk are expected to travel to Guatemala next year to volunteer.

Denning, who lives in Guatemala but has returned to Maine for a few weeks for speaking engagements, is pleased that interest in Safe Passage is spreading. She hopes that residents of her native state will adopt the project as their own.

She is particularly touched by the efforts at Greely High School.

"This is where I graduated and that's why I'm so excited," said Denning, 33, who visited the school last week. "It's close to my heart."

In addition to Moyer-Lee's fund-raising effort, two sophomores, Hannah Groom and Kelsey Sloan, both 15, are planning a supply drive for the children at the dump.

Moyer-Lee, 17, said he began his project after reading about Safe Passage in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. His mother read the article, too, and invited Denning to dinner to talk about Safe Passage, Moyer-Lee said.

Denning said she was impressed with the way Moyer-Lee quickly moved from talk to action. About a week ago, he started speaking to students gathered in their academic advisory groups about donating to Safe Passage. There are 48 such groups, but with the aid of another student who has recently volunteered, Moyer-Lee hopes to reach all of Greely's students within another couple of weeks.

He said students have been receptive to his message. And last week his talk had even more appeal because Denning herself spoke to students. "It's pretty cool to see the person you're seeing on TV standing right there," Moyer-Lee said.

Denning told the students that people sometimes say, "What can I do? That's in Guatemala."

But Denning said every effort counts. She reminds people over and over that "it takes so little to make a such a big difference with these kids."

Galina Conrad, 17, a junior who listened to Moyer-Lee's talk, said afterward that the presentation reminded her of the advantages she and her classmates have and the value of sharing with others.

Moyer-Lee said the collection canisters he made that read "Change for Kids" are steadily filling up. They're placed near the cash registers in the cafeteria, and he stands by at lunch to remind students to donate. He hopes that other students will continue the project after he graduates.

Meanwhile, Groom and Sloan are planning their supply drive for the Guatemalan children for a class project. They may have classes compete to donate the most goods. Denning said a variety of items are needed, ranging from toothbrushes to shoes to soccer balls.

She told the students she hopes the efforts at Greely will serve as a model for other schools in Maine.

"What you guys are doing is huge," Denning said. "You're raising awareness and involving other students."

Staff Writer Tess Nacelewicz can be contacted at 791- 6367 or at: tnacelewicz@pressherald.com