European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                 associated press Here Are still limes when seventh Grade dropout Carol Sasaki of Seattle wash., remembers where she came from Back before lunch at the White House and at the Lalk shows and she has to gel away. I snarl to tool artificial and i want to go Home she says explaining the delightful difficulties of her new life. Jusi a Low years ago she was a welfare Mother who had failed three times Al a High school equivalency certificate. Today she pours herself into a mainly Volunteer Eltory called Home which provides the Emo Honal and moral support women on welfare need to gel themselves through College. We fight the concept that Evyone who s on welfare is  Sasaki says. Home stands for helping ourselves Means education and 3,000 women nationwide Are involved Over Home s first three years Sasaki has tracked More than 850 welfare recipients who followed her Lead and bootstrapped their Way into College and solid academic averages. We Don l have members Sasaki says. These Are people who Are stuck in poverty and those who have made it Oul the whole Point is to share the information thai gels you  her own son 6v-Ycar-Ald David was 2 when Sasaki decided she d had enough. David was the big thing for me she says. Hooked a Qunine Seattle neighbourhood and said this is no place Tor a child " painfully aware of her Lack of education she talked her Way into a Community College and caught the attention of two English teachers. I needed work on my spelling and grammar bul my ideas were very Good she remembers one teacher letting her. She guns and losses her shoulder length Light Brown hair remembering. Of i walked Home so excited thai Day. Your ideas Are very Good i just kept repeating it.  her Fine boned features and tha ease with which she wears a proper Navy Blazer today Don l say a thing about How Lar she has coma. Sexually abused As a child she ran away from her Alt enl Mercer Island wash., Home at 13, Roundup unmarried and pregnant at 24, she once had every str a against her including herself. I used to think there was something wrong with my brain she says Al 31. Sasaki is a Success by any Standard. She whipped through her undergraduate and master s degree work in three years Al Washington state University in Pullman and is on her Way to a degree in International studies. Her doctoral research is on the plight of unwed mothers in developing countries. The 4i/ years since her last Aid to families with depend con children Cheek have not dimmed he memories of what it s like to be on welfare buffeted by bureaucracies and other people s decisions. Carat Sasaki of Spokane wash., works from her horns in e mainly Volunteer Effort called Home which provides the support women on welfare need to gel them elves through College to the did. Moral support in College for women on welfare she remains surprised thai the state s employment Security department has been so much help she says. Home s newsletter is published there free. Being someone who was caught in the system and who has a lot of resentment toward the bureaucracy i was  her efforts firs were concentrated on the people she met in Pullman while on her fast track degree program. Mow a National newsletter and an ambitious travel schedule take the message nationwide Home meetings Are times to share information. We have Only two rules no politics and no complaining she says. We came up with he second Rule because we were spending hours complaining about the welfare system and not time helping  she never lets anyone forget they must do in themselves. The financial Aid Loans Grants and scholarships Are there along with the subsidized housing but the Bottom line is always the woman herself and what she s willing to do. Sasaki says. Mailing it though College and getting off welfare is horribly horribly  Al a recent session at the Spokane Owca Sasaki fielded questions and offered suggestions about College applications dress conservatively she says. Lower your voice. Some of it sounds a lot like miss manners or John Molloy. More of it is straight former Street kid Sasaki. Sure it s baloney she says bluntly Al one Point bul it s the game you have to  a year and a halt ago she married Glen Sasaki a graduate student in molecular genetics. He often spends weekends helping with the Mountain of correspondence that pours into heir modest Home. Afler she had embarked on her doctoral degree she spent three months in Asia doing research she was appalled by what she found which frequently included mothers forced into prostitution to support their illegitimate children. I decided the world can t be this cruel she says i remember thinking there has got to be one slate in one country where a woman can go from poverty to Success without going through the bedroom of a Man " last Spring president Reagan named her one of 19 heroes of the hear for voluntary Community work. She s still shopping for a corporate sponsor to help Home expand far beyond Washington stale s boundaries. Exposure on National to shows such As Donahue has brought a number of inquiries. The Salile based Boeing co. Has Given managerial time o get Home bettor organized. Wey Rahauser gave Money. Sasaki Hopes for enough Money to hire a professional manager so she can stick to speaking and Stop worrying about non profit tax terms and such. Not All the old terrors have gone away. Sasaki still can t Steep in a dark room. But she can sit still and laugh As she admits that she probably got those straight a s in College because she was so scared it was going to  Page 16 the stars and stripes  Sasaki with son in her Home office founded welfare mothers educational program three years ego sunday March a 1997