Chad/Darfur

We've just launched a (post-)holiday campaign to raise funds for library construction, English textbooks, and primary school textbooks for the Darfuris in the Bredjing, Treguine, and Gaga refugee camps in eastern Chad. Here's how it works: we want you to count the books you received as presents this year and donate $1 per book. You can choose how the money is spent and read more details at holiday.bookwish.org.

Share this with everyone, especially people you gave books to! A few dollars can have a big impact on a refugee's life, when spent on books.

There are two new ways you can help Book Wish Foundation support reading in the Bredjing, Treguine, and Gaga refugee camps in eastern Chad. You don't even have to spend a dollar.

We are now a certified member of eBay Giving Works, a program that has generated more than $150 million for charities through eBay auctions. This means that, when we sell items on eBay, we can keep 100% of the proceeds (no eBay fees). So, the first way you can help is to donate exciting items we can auction and turn into funding for the Darfur refugees.

Our second shipment of Headway English textbooks has just reached the Darfur refugee camps of eastern Chad. The following report and photos from our on-the-ground partner CORD capture the moment the refugees received this "lifeline." We are now half way to meeting the needs of the English classes in the camps, and ask for your support to enable additional shipments.

It was smiles all round in Chad as the second consignment of English text books from Book Wish were distributed to the teachers and students of CORD’s Education programme.

Our second shipment of Headway ESL books has just arrived in Hadjer Hadid, Chad, the staging point for our partner CORD's relief efforts in the Bredjing, Treguine, and Gaga refugee camps. The books will soon be in the hands of hundreds of Darfur refugees hoping that learning English will be their "road to freedom." This real improvement in the lives of Darfuris is happening because of donations from you, the public, and the critical support of Oxford University Press and Air France.

Librairie du Liban Publishers, based in Lebanon, have provided samples of two of their French-Arabic/Arabic-French dictionaries to help us find the most appropriate material for French literacy classes in villages in eastern Chad. The Al-Kamel de Poche and Mini Al-Kamel bilingual dictionaries, both by Dr. Youssof M. Reda, will be sent to Chad in our next shipment. Literacy teachers on the ground will then be able to assess their usefulness for that specific population.

As we near our goal of gathering 1,750 pairs of reading glasses for Darfur refugees and villagers in eastern Chad, a few companies, organizations, and individuals are stepping forward to ensure we fully meet the needs of these people in crisis. Birmingham Vision Care of Bloomfield Township, Michigan is just such a company. Their 43 pairs bring us closer to our target, not only in their quantity, but also in their quality and features. With magnifications up to +4.50, Birmingham Vision Care's donation includes some of the strongest readers we have received.

Exciting news from the refugee camps about the impact of our first shipment of Headway English language learning material. Despite the large amount of work to be accomplished in the fields during the summer rainy season, the refugees have chosen to continue their English studies through the summer school break! The Education Program Manager for our on-the-ground partner CORD, Anne Goddard, reports:

"In legacy of our high school that fostered learning and success," alumni of Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Indiana have donated $300 to the Book Wish Foundation's reading relief project in eastern Chad, completing the funding for a second shipment of ESL books for Darfur refugees learning English.

Under the leadership of Class President Kenneth D. Adams, Jr., the Crispus Attucks High School Alumni Class of 1954 identified the Book Wish project as an "opportunity to be of service."

Sight Station, a UK-based eyewear retailer and wholesaler with a philosophy that "fashionable eyewear should be for everyone," has donated 304 pairs of designer reading glasses to our reading relief project in eastern Chad. Shown below are some of these stylish glasses, complete with matching pouches. Not only will they help hundreds of Darfur refugees read, but their beauty will bring extra happiness where it is so badly needed.