Recent and upcoming projects

Malagasy Public Schools Receive Our Books!!!!!!!

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 Our first success....

Over 4,000 children's books were sent to the Madagascar Public Schools to support the addition of English language skills being added to the curriculum September 2008. The shipment arrived and items are being distributed throughout the Malagasy Public Schools. These pictures are from the first group of students to receive their books. These are students in the center of Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, population 1,403,449.

Gumdrop Books has graciously donated some bilingual (French/English) books for our next shipment.

The Project

Lanto and I have been working together to find a way to get as many children's books to Madagascar's public schools before the start of the 2008/09 school year. At the last minute the we were offered the use of space in a cargo container, being loaded here in the US. This allowed us to quickly gather materials and ship them to Pennsylvania, where the cargo container was located.  The cost of shipping materials directly to Madagascar would have been overwhelming (not to mention that most items would probably never have arrived), but shipping materials to a cargo container located in the US was certainly within our means.

We had 2 weeks to gather as many children's books as we could, get them boxed and shipped to Pennsylvania. With the help of friends, family and the staff and students of Mid-East Career and Technology Centers, we were able to put together a shipment of over 4,000 children's books and get them shipped out in the nick of time. We ended up with a shipping bill of $385.00, so I called upon everyone for a little more help with shipping costs. I am so blessed to have friends, family, coworkers and students who knew how much this project meant to Lanto and I. Again the support was overwhelming and we raised the funds to cover the shipping within one week. The most incredible aspect of this endeavor was the support of the high school students at Mid-East Career and Technology Centers. They asked questions about Madagascar and the people and truly wanted to do whatever they could to help. They were amazed at how different their conditions are from the children in Madagascar and they showed real empathy and concern. They donated as much as they could afford. (Mid-East Career and Technology Centers's students come from rural areas of southeastern Ohio, located on the edge of Appalachia. Many are considered very poor by American standards, but all the students saw that in comparison to the Madagascar children, they were very lucky and did all the could to help)

What an amazing project. My original goal was to help the children of Madagascar, but I received the bonus of helping the students around me gain a greater understanding of the world. I discovered that high school students are very much interested in learning more about the living standards of the world and they show a real maturity in their ability to come together for the good of others.

The Reason

This is the first year that English will be taught in the Madagascar Public Schools and we wanted to ensure that the children would have plenty of books to use to learn the language. By teaching English, Madagascar hopes to improve communication and trade with English speaking countries and build the tourist industry in the country.

Madagascar schools do not have books or school supplies of any kind. Many children do not continue their schooling past the middle school, so it is important that we help reach the children while they are still able to attend school.

The Result

• 4,000 books shipped with an expected arrival date of September 2008
• Greater understanding of the world around us
• Overwhelming support
• Overwhelming student involvement
• Unbelievably effective teaching opportunity
• Gumdrop Books has offered to donate titles in English and Bilingual (French/English) to next year's drive.