40,000 children need schooling

AMBON, Maluku: An estimated 38,968 school-age children in eight remote districts of the Southeast regency are too poor to go to school and need help, Antara reported yesterday.

The news agency quoted B. Rahayaan, the chairwoman of the regency's office of the National Foster Parents Movement, as saying her organization is compiling detailed information about the children. She also called on the community to join the movement and sponsor the children to go to school.

She said local activists had so far collected Rp 83 million (US$23,700) from 1,246 foster parents to send 978 children to elementary schools and 268 to junior high schools. (swe)