Thousands of Books Arrive at Schools in Ghana!

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our volunteers the shipment of over 35,000 educational books has arrived safely in Ghana. Overcoming many obstacles we were able to transport the hundreds of boxes of books to schools in desperate need of reading materials.

We wish to extend a special heartfelt thanks to Dianne Lynch for traveling to Ghana and assisting with the exhausting shipment container clearing process.  She is a shining star and a true literacy hero!

 

I.S.A.B.T. made book donations to our partner schools in three regions of Ghana. Many of these schools had no books to speak of. In all, over fifteen schools received book donations that will allow them to host their own small libraries on site.

 

The importance of education in the process of economic and social development cannot be over emphasized.  It is our hope that these books will become vehicles of learning that will open up windows of opportunity for our young friends. 

"Prof. Kobina Yankson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, buttresses this that more than 50 percent of the Ghanaian population are illiterate, accounting largely for Ghana’s low level of development." http://www.modernghana.com

 

"Impressionable minds can be nurtured and molded in ways more than one. But books and the printed word are among the best tools used for  reaching out to a child. Despite the deep penetrating reach of the visual media, books have a definite edge over other mediums of communication and entertainment. Child Psychologists and counselors have often stressed the importance of the reading habit in modern-day children." www.indiaparenting.com

 

 

The following schools received book donations;  

Kpetoe CEPS L/A school complex,  Adaklu Torda school complex, Akpokofe L/A school complex, Kpeleho L/A school complex, Saaman Birase Prim. and JHS, Edinaman SHS, Elmina Methodist A and B JHS, Dwabor Prim. and JHS, Kakumdo Prim. and JHS, and the LEKMA Southern Cluster of Schools in Teshie.

 

Kathy Weir from Tomorrow's Stars assisted with our Gifting Ceremony in Elmina. She has been involved with many wonderful projects in Ghana and plans to work with one of the regional schools to build a large library using our donation as a foundation.

 

The successful delivery of all of the books to schools in Ghana is the culmination of six months of hard work. Many people volunteered their precious time and resources to ensure the African Book Drive's success. We would like to thank each and every person who donated books and materials, their time, talents, and energy to ensure that these books found a good home.

If you are interested in learning more about shipping educational materials to Ghana please contact us or visit this link http://www.ghanashipperscouncil.org/procedures.asp

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM I.S.A.B.T.

THANKS FOR MAKING 2010 SUCH A GREAT YEAR!

Valentines Day shipment leaves for Ghana on Christmas

I.S.A.B.T. is proud to announce our 40 ft. shipping container loaded with over 35,000 library quality books has left the port of Oakland and is set to arrive in Ghana on Valentine’s day. All of the books have been carefully screened to ensure they are educational, relevant, and appropriate. These books will help thousands of students in Ghana who have no access to books or reading materials of any kind. We are working very closely with our partner schools in Ghana to ensure that these books are utilized to their maximum potential. Schools with no books to speak of, will now be able to house their own contemporary Libraries.

Have you ever wondered what shipping books to Africa entails? Well, let us tell you that it is not possible without a strong team of dedicated, passionate, and motivated volunteers.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing groups of helpers. Without their dedication, persistence, and strong backs a project like this would never have been possible.

2010 Book Drive Volunteers

DIANNE LYNCH

Dianne tirelessly packed boxes of San Jose Library book donations from 4:00 - midnight on a Saturday and then transported the 200 filled boxes by herself to street level for Sunday pickup.  She then rented and paid for a U-haul truck to transport the books to the shipping port. Dianne, her friend Michael, and Lisa Carbajal then loaded the U-haul and stored it for delivery to Oakland the next day. On Monday, Lisa and Dianne drove the loaded truck to Oakland and unloaded it at the shipping port.  Then, the next day, Lisa and Dianne drove to the San Francisco library and spent 12 hours packing, loading, and unloading, as well as putting together, the boxes. It took three trips from S.F. to Oakland in order to transfer all of the tens of thousands of books.

LISA CARBAJAL

Lisa put in tireless hours packing boxes on the weekend. Both she and Dianne took off Monday and Tuesday to pack, load, and unload the boxes of books.  Lisa has 3 children and had to make babysitting arrangements in order to help me.

RINAL SHAH

Rinal helped organize the difficult logistics of running a successful Book Drive. This included establishing and maintaining library and volunteer contacts and picking up donations from all over the Bay Area.

RICH BRAUGH

Rich helped promote our cause, raised money to cover the cost of the container, the boxes, and even paid for a volunteer pizza lunch.

MINTY HUYNH/ FOG VALLEY

Minty Huynh/ Fog Valley provided a truck on Tuesday to pack up books at S.F. Library.  She also held a Crab Feed fundraiser at her home to raise funds for the fuel needed for the truck.  She and 3 of her friends generously volunteered at the last minute because we needed more volunteers to help "pick and pack" books from the S.F. Library.

AMAZING PACKING

Amazing Packaging graciously sold us brand new shipping boxes at their cost.

UJENA GROUP 

UJENA generously donated their factory space as a Book Drop location and helped promote the Book Drive. Thanks to Justin Wall, Lisa Anderson-Wall, Ellie Eagles, Trisha Tompkins, and Julia Hittler for their assistance and support.

CAROL and PETER THURSTON, KRISTINE ERVING, and LINDA ROMLEY-IRVINE

Thanks to this group for combing the stacks, culling the very best books for our Ghanaian teachers and then specially packing them for delivery to classrooms in Ghana.

EVIE KREBS and LAURA LENT

Our wonderful connections at the San Francisco Library who gave us access to relevant, educational, and gently-used library books.

SAN JOSE MARTIN LUTHER KING LIBRARY

For donating thousands of quality books to our schools.

OUR WONDERFUL BOOK DONORS
A special thank you to all of the people who generously packed and donated their gently used books to our cause, like Sue Garadis, and Anne Cleaver.