In four months, our students and families collected and donated more than 1200 books, and raised almost $500 towards the cost of shipping the books to  Embikwakhe Primary School!  Our students asked neighbors and friends, even went out to local book stores to buy new books and through their efforts, this school will have its first collection of reading materials for its students.

A Child Becomes patterned with the African Library Project, a non-profit who helps coordinate book drives in the United States for the benefit of schools in Africa.  Nearly 93% of schools in South Africa do not have libraries!

Our students made cards and brought in photos that we packed into all of the boxes to surprise the students in Swaziland when they opened the boxes.  Volunteers, students and parents, helped sort all of the books into sizes that made packing easier.  Boxes were lined with plastic bags to protect the boxes from any potential water damage and were mailed off, ready for new readers to enjoy!

This was an amazingly successful project!  The students learned about other countries, the importance of literacy and how by working together towards a common goal, you can accomplish great things!  We also hope to make some great friends all the way on the other side of the world!

Thank you to everyone who helped!  Check back as we hope to get some photos or notes back from our new friends at Embikwakhe Primary School.  We’ll post that here to share with everyone!