By Sully Witte
Moultrie News

A group of women from a Mount Pleasant Recreation Department water aerobics class reached out of the pool and into their purses recently and started a scholarship fund for some of the children in the Akumal Poblado in Mexico. Class participant Lydia Pontius is a documentary producer and Webmaster for Centro Ecológico Akumal, a nonprofit,nongovernmental organization that conducts scientific investigations into the health of the regional environment. The CEA reports its findings in educational ways that touch the local Maya, the developers, the Akumal residents and visitors alike. Pontius has been volunteering for the nonprofit group for more than five years, and the stories she told about her visits intrigued the other ladies in the water aerobics class ­ so much so that they wanted to help.

Aquatics instructor Susan Hillyer and the rest of the class began collecting supplies for Pontius to take with her on her visits. When there was an attack and women and children were afraid, they sent whistles and flashlights. They also sent many collars and leashes for animal clinics in which volunteer veterinarians work. On some trips Pontius had to take an extra suitcase.

Located in the heart of the Maya Riviera, CEA plays an important role in research, education and protection of the Sistema Arrecifal Mesoamericano (SAM). Its mission is to monitor the impact of development on the regional ecosystems and culture, to report findings and their significance to the public, and to influence public policy through education.

As Pontius¹ suitcases got heavier, the ladies asked if a scholarship would be more beneficial than just sending supplies. The women shared the idea with other ladies in the class and so began the scholarship fund.

³We decided to donate money rather than goodies because it was getting to be too much to carry,² said Hillyer. ³Lydia suggested we sponsor a child, and fortunately we raised enough for two children.²

Mauricio Bautista, who heads up CEA's Environmental Education Program, got the names of two students who really needed financial help for their education and the needed supplies were identified. The girls, an 8-year-old in the fourth grade and a 5-year-old in kindergarten, both are named Magdalena.

Pontius explained that both families were suffering from the loss caused by a recent hurricane. They didn¹t have the money to send their children to school with supplies.

The school consists of only one teacher and a building, so children are required to provide their own books and learning materials. They even have to bring their own lunches.

While a gift of $20 a month might not seem like much in America, Pontius explained, it goes far in their little village.

Each month the girls are given a small stipend from the $400 raised to help with the costs of their education. CEA drew up forms and the girl's parents and teachers signed them, agreeing that the money would go to educational supplies, clothes for school and food for lunch. Once a month, Mauricio delivers the money, checks on the progress of each girl and reports back to the ladies in Mount Pleasant.

The girls and their families have sent thank-you notes, pictures and report cards to the aquatics class.

Very recently, one of the girls was in a serious auto/pedestrian accident while walking the main highway to school. She remained unconscious for some time and suffered extensive memory loss. She was unable to return to school, and with mounting medical bills, the family was struggling. It was decided that her younger brother Valentine could use the remining scholarship money for his school needs.

Next year, the plan is to use the scholarship money to help a student with good grades who cannot afford to continue his or her education.

³The schooling in that area only runs through what we would consider junior high school,² Pontius said. ³Most of the older children don¹t continue their education because the high school is located outside of their village.² Education is significantly more expensive when the students get past the sixth grade, she said. ³Often times students travel by public bus to either Tulum or Puerto Aventuras to go to school, a trip that costs $3 per day. On top of transportation, they are required to pay for all books, supplies, uniforms and food. Many students would greatly benefit from continuing their education, but their families cannot afford the expense.²

³This seemed like a good cause to me because I knew where the money was going,² said Hillyer. ³We get report cards and pictures of these girls and somehow I feel like we know them.² Pontius said that 100 percent of the money does go to the student because there are no administration fees to cover. In addition, the CEA has U.S. nonprofit status so all donations are tax-deductible.

³Susan and the rest of the ladies in the class have been so generous,² said pontius. ³They¹ve adopted these children in another world ­ these worlds couldn¹t be more different,² she said. ³All these people see (about the United States) is tourists and big business. These ladies have shown them another side of Americans.²

Hillyer said that as long as Pontius can take the money and as long as she can round up the troops to donate, she¹ll keep finding the funds.

Pontius said she fell in love with the place and the people on her first visit. ³It¹s an amazingly beautiful place and they are the kindest people you¹d ever want to meet. There's hope for them, but it will take a lot of work,² she said. If you would like to find out more about the Scholarship Fund Program or you would like to make a contribution to this or the Environmental Educational Program to continue teaching the children in three schools about environmental issues, basic science, climate and hygiene, visit ceakumal.org/index.html.

To make a donation, send checks to P.O. Box 2116, Madison, Wis., 53701-2116.