24 Nov 2012

Remote boarding school out of food

8:15 am on 24 November 2012

A boarding school on a remote Pacific Island in the Federated States of Micronesia is out of food.

Weipat High School on Onoun, one of the remote outer islands of the Federated States of Micronesia state of Chuuk, has around 270 students from all the islands around the region.

Father Floren Akkin told Radio Australia that the school ran out of food last week.

"The school has been cancelled until we are stabilised here," he said. "I'm sending the kids to the community, to the families, to find food there."

Father Floren said the school was given provisions at the start of the year, but that wasn't enough.

The Chuuk education department had promised to send another 25 bags of rice, but there was no word when they would arrive by sea.

"We have nothing definite yet on transportation .... I'm hoping they'll send also some vegetable and meats to supplement this rice - here we only have bananas, taro and breadfruit," he said.