'Pencil Lady' stocks classrooms for Afghan children

SAUTEE - When the word got out that a Sautee woman was buying school supplies for children in Afghanistan, help started pouring in from north Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. <br> <br> People donated enough money and materials in two months to provide crayons, staplers, rulers and glue to 78,500 Afghan children. <br> <br> Michelle Weatherbee said -- ``It&#39;s pretty incredible for a teeny, tiny, minuscule town in north Georgia.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Wetherbee is a professor at Piedmont College in nearby Demorest. <br> <br> Linda Owens, a former teacher, counselor and coach who makes her living as a massage therapist, initiated Project Pencil and Paper after watching a television news report about Afghan students in February. <br> <br> The broadcast showed students huddled together on a bare school floor. Girls banned from attending classes when the Taliban ruled suddenly crowded into instant classrooms. But years of war and poverty left little money for desks or supplies. <br> <br> Owens recalls telling a friend, ``We can&#39;t do anything about the desks, but we could get them pencils and paper.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> She set up an account at Habersham Bank and spread the word. People sent checks ranging from five dollars to $500. A few newspapers published the story and more donations came in. <br> <br> Owens said, ``It just really took off.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Owens went to the bank one day to find five boxes from Asheville, North Carolina, filled with pencils, notebooks and clipboards. <br> <br> A few weeks ago, a truck hauled off 114 boxes of supplies bound for schools in Afghanistan that are affiliated with World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization that operates in about 100 countries.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/195881