Want to help a child read?

So, I’ve been home in Ohio now for a full month. Trust me, I’m fully appreciating all of the perks of being home: hot water, home cooking, my childhood bed, trashy television, reading Harry Potter on the porch, and of course endless amounts of chocolate. But not a day goes by when I don’t think about Rwanda, miss Rwanda.

And what I miss most are those beautiful, brilliant children.

As many of you know (either from me telling you or from my blatant favoritism/bias in my blog), while I loved my primary job of working for the Access Project, what really got me out of bed in the morning and made my experience in Rwanda so rewarding was opening up the first public library in Musanze. It turned out beautifully and I’ve been assured that despite my departure it continues to run smoothly and be visited by all types of community members.

Throughout my year in Rwanda, I was consistently in contact with Edwards Middle School in Brunswick, Ohio, through my childhood friend, Trista Smith. Trista teaches 7th grade Science and brilliantly led her classes through lectures and activities about the culture and environment of Rwanda. We exchanged letters, emails and photos every month. Often her students asked me questions about kids in Rwanda; “Are kids in Rwanda just like kids in America?”, “What sports do kids in Rwanda play?”, and “What kind of books do kids in Rwanda read?”

Around that time, Trista mentioned the library I was opening to her students, and they immediately were eager to help in a big way. Over the next few months they donated an astounding 800 books (that’s 270 pounds of beautiful literary material!) ranging from children’s books to accounting and science textbooks. Now she has been working hard to spread the word, gain support and most importantly raise the much needed funds to pay for shipping and customs costs (estimated at between $1200 and $1500).
And that’s where you, my faithful friends, family and blog readers, can come in. Want to help support me? Want to help support Trista and her class? But most importantly want to help the wonderful community of Musanze, Rwanda and bring books to the children…my children!

Trista and her school have already raised over $600 and we’ll be working to raise the money for shipment costs as long as it takes, but hope to get the books to Rwanda sometime this summer. I promise you, no donation is too small (or too big) and every penny will be appreciated more than I can ever put into words.

If you would like to make a donation, please make checks payable to: Edwards Middle School.

They can be mailed to:
Edwards Middle School
Attn: Trista Smith
1497 Pearl Rd.
Brunswick, Ohio 44212

Receipts will be given for tax purposes of course.

However, if you feel more comfortable working through me, send me an email at amy.studenic@gmail.com and we can discuss!

A huge MURAKOZE (THANK YOU!) for any help you can provide to make this huge project a huge success! You all were a tremendous source of support for me during my time in Rwanda and know how much this community and library meant to me. I look forward to the day when I can update you all to tell you “We did it!” and show you pictures of the new books being delivered to the library!


More updates soon, but until then, take care!