Our First Blog Post!
Today commemorates the first day of Textbooks Africa’s new blog! Now, it will be much easier to keep up with current projects, hear personal stories from workers and beneficiaries, learn of great opportunities in which you can participate, and stay in-tune with international education news. And for our first blog, we have a special post about our most current project!
Textbooks Africa is proud to continue its mission for education and environmental sustainability with our project in Zimbabwe. This next shipment was made possible by Textbooks Africa’s network in the United States and in Zimbabwe. Tariro and Max Msutu, members of Textbook Africa’s family, were the initiators of this most recent project. Tariro and Max are originally from Zimbabwe and were able to connect Textbooks Africa with the group of schools the next shipment is heading to. A short time ago, the Msutu’s had the opportunity to travel to the country and see the schools, staff, and children Textbook Africa will be assisting. With this trip, we are offered a glimpse of the faces and structures Textbooks Africa is hoping to benefit. The schools are located approximately 250 miles south of the capital in the rural town of Zvishavane and are comprised of four primary schools and two secondary schools. Most of the schools are dilapidated in building structure, subpar with basic commodities such as desks and books, and marginalized in the broad education system of Zimbabwe as a result of their rural location. However, what these schools are not lacking is a student and facilitator body that is passionate about learning and growing as a community. However, this yearn can only be successful if the resources are there to support them. As one of the school’s heads said, “these children’s’ imagination is limited by what they can read. Having other available books will help broaden their minds and imagination.” This school head had traveled several miles just to meet Tariro and Max. He shared his devotion to the children’s education and noted how important the shipment would be for the community.
Moreover, the work that Textbooks Africa does and other NGOs like ours does in Zimbabwe can have an outstanding impact in the country. Though education is labeled a basic human right in Zimbabwe, there is a monetary side of education that can be difficult to overcome for institutions and individuals. Despite a rise in education in the 1980s, Zimbabwe’s education industry and its funding has faltered over the past two decades.
This is where Textbooks Africa and organizations like ours work to supplement the Government’s efforts. Organizations like Textbooks Africa are working towards Goal 2 of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. Among several other crucial components, Goal 2 states that it is necessary to improve the quality and relevance of primary education in order to achieve “universal primary education.” Through the supply of school supplies like textbooks and computers, Textbooks Africa is helping improve this quality by supplementing the education effort in Zimbabwe. Textbooks Africa is an essential part to the whole, and is greatly looking forward to the completion and furtherance of our project.
We are so joyful that we can play a role in these schools’ success. Helping provide the access to a suitable working environment is in the core mission of Textbooks Africa, and we hope you can join us in this effort. It takes many resources to ship school supplies across the Atlantic, including manpower, money, and supplies, but above all it requires a unified effort by those able to give support. By donating a little bit towards this cause, you could make a big impact on one child’s education. We know the access to education does incredible things across the world; it serves as the basis for all types of development. As one child learns, he teaches his friends, his family, and all those he comes to know. His education does not benefit only him, but it benefits society as a whole. This is the mission of Textbooks Africa, and we are happy to have you on board with us.
If you would like to further support Textbooks Africa, we would love for you to add us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn, and sign up for our newsletter. Additionally, if you would like to help support the Zimbabwe project and our future endeavors, you can find a link to our donations page below. Once again, thank you for your dedication to Textbooks Africa and the goals we continually pursue.
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