Few people in the world have a greater respect for books than do the children of Malawi. Books are learning, learning is education, and education is their only escape from the poverty that grips sub-Saharan Africa. With books they can learn to care for themselves and grow to be independent, self-functioning, successful and productive citizens. With the intent to bring programs to Malawi that help bring about sustainable living the contributors of the Malawi Project, through a number of focused programs, have invested a great deal of effort to help the educational system of the country. No program however, has surpassed the efforts of a Texas teenager in her Girl Scout project to obtain textbooks for the schools of Malawi. Brielle Read and her family helped bring focus to the needs of Malawi. Her church family caught the vision, then her school, then school district officials as well as members of the Malawi Project. World Emergency Relief added their support, and a total of 33,000 school textbooks, many of them new, were on the way to Africa in three trailer shipments.
Upon arrival in Malawi the textbooks were processed through customs duty free, and prepared for distribution by Wilson Tembo, Warehouse Director at the Namikango Mission in Thondwe. Distribution has started in 197 primary schools in the Zomba District, including the Chimbiya Primary School where 419 students study under 8 teachers. The school had no library, but this is no longer the case. The large number of textbooks that have arrived at the school brings a big smile to the faces of excited children. One of those students eleven-year-old Mphatso Sekani is excited she will be able to learn much from the books that have arrived. Can you pick her out of the photo?