Support the Kids, 2021
Dear Friends,
Due to the support of many individuals, BooksOpen Foundation has had several successful years. We have four young children in great schools receiving top-quality educations, balanced meals and health care, and loving guidance from faculty and staff. We are in full fundraising mode to raise tuition and board of the five Scholars for 2021. Please consider supporting the children this year.
In 2008, BooksOpen first sent two young boys from Rufiji District, Mfaume and Shukuru, to boarding school in Himo, Tanzania. In 2009, a young orphan named Evasia joined them. All three are doing very well. Both Mfaume and Shukuru continue to finish at the top of their class, and are awaiting exam results to Form 5. Evasia, now with tutors for the holiday, has just passed her exams to join Form 3. Little Brandon is now in 1st grade in Entebbe, Uganda.
Over the past year, Pendael (Pendo) has married, had a baby girl, and started a shop (duka) in his home village of Mtanza-Msona. He continues to improve upon the braille skills that he learned at a school for the blind in the capital, Dar es Salaam.
The children and their teachers have voiced their appreciation to donors, and we hope that everyone will enjoy following the four young students as they put their minds to work and begin building more secure foundations for themselves.
BooksOpen Foundation focuses on identifying relatively disadvantaged children (in sub-Saharan Africa, this means children who would very likely end up poorer than their neighbors and perhaps in more precarious informal occupations later in life) and, with a simple wire transfer, changing their lives though educational opportunity. These are children who would otherwise have almost no chance of going to a decent school, receiving proper health care and nutrition or the kind of guardianship that will allow them to prosper. The simplicity of the story is why BooksOpen Foundation exists: a well-rounded education is an unambiguous good that helps to grow happy, confident, and driven young adults who then have the opportunity to become positive role models in their communities. $2,500 per year changes one life, and BooksOpen Foundation is proud to provide a straightforward means of contributing. We volunteer our time, and BooksOpen maintains minimal overhead–web hosting, insurance, and wire-transfer fees. This means that nearly 100% of donations go directly to the students.
We hope that you will join us in supporting Mfaume, Shukuru, Evasia, Pendo, and Brandon as they strive to build strong futures. With enough funding, we will be able to enroll another child next year, and build capital reserves for the future. An exciting project for 2021 is to transfer a collection of young-adult novels–either paperback or on used Kindles–to the existing BooksOpen Scholars.
You can make a secure, tax-deductible donation and check up on the kids on our website. We have uploaded pictures, videos, and excerpts from the students’ workbooks, and are working hard to improve on how we report on the kids without compromising an appropriate degree of privacy. Please pass on our website to friends and family, and send us suggestions.
If you are interested in becoming a board member of BooksOpen Foundation, or would like to play a more active part in helping the nonprofit grow, please contact us. Soon, we will begin periodic (virtual) meetings, and would appreciate your participation.
Asante sana (thank you) for considering a donation to BooksOpen Foundation.
Nick & Jess
