I.S.A.B.T. Welcomes New Member To The Board

I.S.A.B.T. is happy to welcome Michael Boampong to the Board of Directors!

Michael is the Founder of the Ghanaian-based NGO Young People We Care (YPWC) where he currently serves as Board Member and Advisor. He is an ardent believer in youth empowerment and believes that if the youth are not empowered now, the world will not realize any meaningful development.

He is passionate about social entrepreneurship, social networks for development, youth development, migration and development, imagination, and making a difference. Michael has work experience with international organizations such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and UNICEF Rural Voices of Youth and currently works for the United Nations in New York City. To learn more about Michael, visit: www.michaelboampong.com

Michael's experience, passion, and dedication to excellence will be a huge help to our organization as we plan for the future. Akwaaba Michael!

5 New Books in from Jukwa, Ghana

Five new stories from "The Best Part of My Life" series have come in from the summer project Book Club volunteer Sue Gonzalez ran in Jukwa, Ghana. They are poignant and insightful. Here is a quote from Hagar Nyarkoh's story;

"The best part of my family is my mother who is called Sister Naana.  My mother is dark in complexion and has long, black hair on her head. We always call her Dark Mama.  My mother is short and she sells frying fish in the market every night.

The reason why I like my mum is that she takes care of me and provides my needs when my father refused to do so. She tells me Ananse stories and everytime she advises me, she always says, "A word to the wise is enough!" I like my mum because she helps me to do my house work, homework and prepare my meals.

The food my mother likes best is FuFu and Groundnut soup. My mother is very smart and very kind to everyone. That is why my mother is the best part of my family!"

You can read the stories from Jukwa here;

http://bookclub.realelibrary.com/index.php/RealeBooks/latest/

and read more about "The Best Part of My Life" project here;
http://www.omprakash.org/volunteerstories/Story/A-Week-of-Teenage-Pregnancy-Education-and-Photography-Classes

Thank you from I.S.A.B.T. for another great year!

Dear Friends and Valued Supporters, thank you for another great year!

We are happy to report the completion of several successful projects in line with our educational mission. I.S.A.B.T. made a significant donation to a new library beingbuilt in the capitol of Accra, in Ghana. A wide range of quality reading books was selected to support the new Book Clubs they are founding at the library.

The amazing Sue Ron-Gonzalez made another trip to Ghana this summer and ran a wonderful Book Club International program in the town of Jukwa. You can read an article written about the program by Lillie Marshall from TeachingTraveling.com athttp://teachingtraveling.com/ and read many of the new stories from Jukwa posted in the online library at http://bookclub.realelibrary.com/.

We are also excited to report the success of our scholarship student; Joseph Adams in Cape Coast, Ghana. Joseph is an orphan adopted by a family in the area who was struggling to pay his school fees. I.S.A.B.T. was able to provide for his full school tuition, testing and transportation fees, as well as a large bag of rice to help feed his adopted family. His academic success is a testament to how hard work really does pay off, even when the odds are against you. Please find more information about Joseph and read the I.S.A.B.T. highlights from this past year in the latest edition of the I.S.A.B.T. Coconut.

http://isabt.org/coconut.html

We have many projects in the works for next year; including shipping more educational materials to African Schools, forging new partnerships with educational organizations and schools, and continuing to expand the International Book Club program. Thank you again for your support!

Sincerely,

I.S.A.B.T.