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Patrick Plonski, Girma Birru, James Kimoyo, and I after officially signing the partnership between Books For Africa and Course Hero
So I’ve returned from the Annual Books for Africa Fundraising Gala that I attended last week in Minnesota, and have to say that I was left in awe by the energy, ambition, and dedication that pulsed through every person connected with our outstanding partner organization. From the Executive Director and Founder all the way down to the newest Development Assistants, the faces that stand behind the Books for Africa organization are doing everything in their power to ensure that those who thirst for knowledge are provided with a reservoir from which to gulp.
Books For Africa has sent over 24 million text and library books to children and adults in 45 African countries, an outstanding figure that makes them the largest shipper of books to the entire African continent. To most that would be something to sit back and admire, but to Books for Africa that is simply not enough, as most African schools still struggle to provide even one books for every three students.
As relayed in speeches by both James Kimoyo, Rwanda’s Ambassador to the US, and Girma Birru, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the US, the accomplishments in education that have come as a result of Books for Africa’s work have given millions the gift of hope and the opportunity to attain a better quality of life. The books donated have been put to tremendous use, and the graduation and attendance rates in African middle schools, high schools, and universities have continually grown by leaps and bounds. The simple fact though is that millions more seek that opportunity, and we must do everything we can to continue to provide educational resources for the children of Africa.
Through our partnership, Course Hero will make education more accessible for those children and students, and will work hand in hand with Books For Africa to put the power of knowledge in as many minds as possible. We will start with books and have already donated over 7,000 so far, but who knows what the future will hold? In a long lunch meeting with both Mr. Birru and Mr. Kimoyo, we discussed the full spectrum of empowerment that education provides, with the ability to hope and dream on one end, and the tools to build a foundation of success and attain a better quality of life on the other. It is hard to imagine anything else that carries with it such limitless capabilities, which further underscores the need to give and provide every academic resource that we can.
One of the most striking statements of the entire two day event came from Mr. Birru, who relayed the idea that, “Money in the wrong hands can be transformed into guns and tanks. Books, however, can only serve to educate those that hold them in their hands”. To know that we are providing those books, and ultimately an education that will give children and students tools of empowerment, is a tremendous feeling. Now it is simply a matter of providing more, opening the pipes, and supplying those that are thirsty to learn with an unlimited access to a vast reservoir of knowledge. That is our mission, that is our goal.
Visit the Course Hero Knowledge Drive to start giving back now.
