Houston, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/19/2015 -- Beatrice Mbai, a teacher at The Redd School in Houston, is originally from Kenya and has seen first-hand the struggles of Kenyan children trying to get an education. For two years, Beatrice has been conducting small book drives for two schools in the village of Nduriri in Central Kenya where her father and grandfather grew up. According to Beatrice, "It is an extremely impoverished area. Children walk miles to school, often without shoes or food for lunch. The two schools, with about 300 students each, are barely funded by the government so the families must pay tuition and buy uniforms. Most families barely make it. Books are a luxury, even at school."
For several years, The Redd School has conducted food drives, a Toys for Tots campaign and donated textbooks to schools in the Houston area. Now, the students have embraced the Kenyan book drive and have collected over 4000 books and other materials to send overseas.
"Books are being donated by The Redd School, students and their families. The students have embraced this drive with a vigor I haven't seen in years. I think it's partly because they have a familiar face in our teacher, Beatrice Mbai, to associate with the cause," said Ellen LeBlanc, Redd School Administrator. "Our students are learning geography, economics, government and a host of other unplanned lessons and because the children are engaged, it is truly a win-win."
While Beatrice Mbai is excited about the book drive, she also hopes the fundraising efforts can go beyond just sending books. "There is a definite need for teacher training," she says. "We are planning to send a team of teachers to this small village to help their teachers learn some of the current and standard teaching practices. Many of the teachers are not trained or have a teaching degree. We can change that!"
The IndieGoGo campaign, located at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/from-texas-to-kenya--2#/story, offers donors the opportunity to pledge any amount. For $25, donors will receive their names printed on a box of books to be shipped to Kenya. For more information, see the IndieGoGo page.
About Redd School's Kenya Book Project
The Redd School in Houston hosted a book drive and collected over 4000 books. They are working with Educational Excellence In America in an effort to collect funds to send the books and teachers to schools in Kenya. The school has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for this worthy cause.
Contact:
Contact Person: Will LeBlanc
Company: Educational Excellence In America
Address: P.O. Box 90267 Houston, TX. 77290
Email: will@EdExAm.org
Phone:281-893-3838
Website: https://www.edexam.org