Education

Watch videos below. To help demonstrate the impact our donors are having, and to show what is really happening in education in the refugee camps in eastern Chad, we sent a Flip camcorder and memory stick to our field partner CORD. The many videos that came back far exceed our expectations, and we'll be sharing them gradually over the next several weeks.

If you read about us in the July 2009 issue of Costco Connection, Book Wish Foundation has a challenge for you. Collectively, we are calling on the Costco community to help build a 5,000-book library in a Darfur refugee camp in eastern Chad. With a circulation of nearly 8 million, only a small fraction of the Connection's readers would need to contribute to enable us to break ground on a new library. The cost is about $10,000 for the 49' x 23' brick building, and if the Costco community can raise that, we'll do the rest to furnish the library with targeted books to improve the lives of about 20,000-30,000 refugees, especially the children, who are literate but have no children's books to read.

The University of Toronto English Language Program has generously donated 149 books, 236 audio cassettes, and 105 video cassettes for use in our Iraq project! The material includes English for International Business, TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), the MOSAIC and QUEST series, and other resources to aid students and teachers with reading, writing, listening, and pronunciation.

Respect and Admiration. These are not words typically associated with the plight of refugees. But they were used by Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Ann Curry, NBC journalist and news anchor, and authors Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) and Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea), when they shared stories about the incredible inspiration and determination of refugees – real people with real needs – the theme of this year’s World Refugee Day.

Exciting news about the success of English classes for Darfur refugees in Bredjing Refugee Camp, eastern Chad! The English teachers, themselves refugees, have reached an important milestone thanks to the Headway curriculum we supplied, which has now been used for about eight months. Everyone who contributed should take pride in this accomplishment. From Anne Goddard of CORD, Education Program Manager in Bredjing:

In this brief report from eastern Chad, Anne Goddard, Education Programme Manager for our partner CORD, describes how villagers in Bakhita are chipping in to build their new primary school. To complete construction, though, they need your help. Please consider donating for school construction to help the villagers help themselves through education.

If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, this is a great opportunity to hear firsthand about aid work in Darfur refugee camps, especially educational and reading-related aid that can help rebuild lives.

On Monday, January 12, 2009, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM, at the Library of Congress, our partner CORD's CEO, Brian Wakley, will be speaking about "WAGING PEACE: building new life after conflict for the victims of Darfur."

We've just launched a (post-)holiday campaign to raise funds for library construction, English textbooks, and primary school textbooks for the Darfuris in the Bredjing, Treguine, and Gaga refugee camps in eastern Chad. Here's how it works: we want you to count the books you received as presents this year and donate $1 per book. You can choose how the money is spent and read more details at holiday.bookwish.org.

Share this with everyone, especially people you gave books to! A few dollars can have a big impact on a refugee's life, when spent on books.

On Nov. 11, Dhi Qar University in Nasiriyah, Iraq received our first shipment of English language learning material at an event organized by our partner in Iraq, the Michael Scott Mater Foundation, with support from the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade. Dhi Qar University Chancellor Dr. Ali Ismael Obeidi Al Snafi attended with other faculty members, including the director of Dhi Qar's "American Corner" library, and representatives of the Cultural Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad were also present.