donating books to Africa

Beads help support Baby Heroes Africa

Do you have a hobby that you no longer enjoy? Maybe you have all the parts and pieces in your attic or basement? Recently we were gifted with a massive bead donation. The collection included everything needed to set up a complete jewelry making operation: beads, wire, tools and more. We knew this collection could have a huge impact in Zimbabwe, and that the bead collection would provide the opportunity for women to create their own cottage industry. The impact has actually been even more profound than we imagined.

We sent the beads, with our partner Mark, to Zimbabwe. He shared them with an organization created to assist premature babies and their mothers, Baby Heroes Africa Foundation.

“Baby Heroes Africa Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2015 by Chengetai Makuni and Dr Norbertta Washaya with the aim of increasing the survival of preterm babies and enhancing their quality of life. Through the provision of technical, clinical and social support we have been able to aid institutions caring for preterm babies as well as the families of preterm babies. Our headquarters is in Bulawayo while our other offices are in Harare and Gweru. We work closely, Mpilo Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals, Maphisa Rural Hospital, Gweru Provincial Hospital and Chipinge District Hospital,Parirenyatwa and Harare Hospital.”

Baby Heroes Africa trains volunteers to assist mothers and babies during their stay at the local hospital. They have included beaded jewelry making as one component of their outreach, making jewelry to sell to support their mission.

Baby Heroes Africa said, “The beads and craft accessories donation helps us to support mothers of preterm babies who spend months on end in the hospital caring for their babies.”

Baby Heroes Africa also said, “The beading workshops are part of a bigger program called love our preemie mums which focuses on caring for and supporting mothers of preterm babies which in turn increases their capacity to provide that critical care to the babies.”

“Our social support involves giving care packages through “Bundles of Joy” project, to mothers for their babies; these packages include diapers, soap, petroleum jelly, blankets, wraps, clothes, baby tubs or buckets, cotton wool, maternity pads and methylated spirit. It also involves supporting mothers of preterm babies with home visits and skills development to assist them in improving their quality of life and that of their babies.”

Our next container leaves in under a month. If you have any baby items, beads or other craft projects which you would like to donate to Baby Heroes Africa, please contact us. We can arrange the donation.

“Giving care packages helps relieve the stress many of the mums have. Most of the mothers are unemployed and single I know you mentioned sending a container in 3 weeks. If there is anyway you can include any of the above listed items we would really appreciate it.”

Naturally, our donation included books for older siblings.

Baby Heroes Africa says, “Thank you once again for everything.”

Pray Without Ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Through Prayer A Distribution Center is Built

August 28, 2019Kids and Community Servicebook donations, children and community service, children's charities, children's libraries, donating books to Africa, kids and community service, kids and literacy, kids helping kids, Kyamaganda Community Development Organizaton, SKCharities, Uganda, US-Africa Children's Fellowship, Wonderland BookSavershomeschoolhappymess Leave a comment

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7

This is the story of 3 years of prayers, with originally no hope. Our first contact from the Kyamaganda Community Development Center was a simple request, found on our Contact form, “We would love to partner with you in establishing libraries in Lwengo District, Uganda, Willy.” It was followed by a simple pictures of local children playing “banana ball,” a soccer ball made from banana leaves.

Over the next several years Willy continued to write to us. We learned of droughts, the rainy season, homes destroyed, children with malaria and HIV. But Willy never complained. He continued to patiently ask us for schoolbooks and soccer balls so that the children could grow and learn. And although we assured Willy that we did not have the necessary contacts to get the goods into Uganda, Willy just believed that God would find a way.

“Education, food and water best describe our urgent needs. Otherwise, we are so grateful for your timely efforts and we pray and strongly believe that One God will make a way.” We exchanged Christmas and Easter blessings, and still we had no hope to offer.

We did what we could, which was to send one soccer ball. It took 3 months to arrive, “Dear loving friend, Am happy to inform you that we received the gift u sent to us a foot ball and ball pump together in a box. Thanking you for your love and care.” Willy

“Today we officially had a practice using our ball you sent us! We had 39 youth who turned up for boys and 20 girls but they had no netball’s (volley ball) to use but we used the same ball for boys and girls. Pressure was reduced and then after we pumped the Ball again. So the needs identified in games and sports includes the following, we need to have more 3 balls for football (soccer), and 2 for netball, volley ball net, first aid kit, sports jerseys. You can guide us on how to improve this and handle. Otherwise the start was good and many youth turned up for the play.”

We were discouraged at not being able to do more for Willy and the Kyamaganda community. We began to give up. Helping Uganda was not possible.

Willy wrote, “We are happy to inform you that our team for soccer play has grown. But girls need to be given considerations and boys too. Hi u dear. it has been some time that we have not had any communication from you. but God is keeping us safe.”

We began to join Willy in prayer. His parish prayed, and we prayed. There was no other action we could take.

“We are organizing a thanksgiving Mass and prayers for the existence of Kyamaganda Community Development Organization, now three years striving to serve the poor and underprivileged communities in southern Uganda, Lwengo district. Join us in prayers next Sunday. Ever we believe one day God will be on our side and do above we think and ask.”

And then one day we received an email from Lee in Zambia, requesting books. We regularly send books to Zimbabwe. Zambia is on the border. Maybe we could establish a distribution center in Bulawayo Zimbabwe. Maybe both Lee and Willy could collect books from Zimbabwe?

“Thank you for the reply and prayers. Also setting up a distribution centre in Uganda can be given a good thought. We shall keep praying such that one day we have school supplies, books, and sports equipments.”

We began to collect our empty boxes, and organize our garage.

“Am happy to inform you that I got a call from Zimbabwe and the lady is willing to receive our goods in the container and arrange for transportations and they reach in Uganda. It’s a big opportunity for us. May God bless the work of your hands.”

We created separate shipping labels: blue for Zambia, green for Uganda, and white for Zimbabwe. We also began to take specific packing requests.

“Greetings! A kind inquiry if you have been able to get some scholastic materials and equipments as you had promised and be included in the books deliverables to Africa . We need some Bible’s too.”

We were able to purchase a case of 32 new Bibles and procured several cases of children’s Bibles as well. We bought a new outdoor volley ball net and 6 volley balls. We traded 20 boxes of children’s books for 90 soccer balls. We gathered tons of soccer equipment, jerseys, gloves and cleats from a California charity, SKCharities http://www.donatejerseys.com/

Now we knew we could succeed and at long last help Willy and his parish, all of whom had been patiently praying for 3 years, believing that help would arrive.

Soon our boxes were packed and it was time to load the shipping container in Brooklyn.

We had no idea it was so big!

This container can hold over 40,000 books and thousands of supplies.

It took all morning and dozens of people, finally the container was loaded. But our problems were not over. There was a long delay getting the shipment through customs, and then the cost of moving the goods through to Uganda.

“It’s good to hear such news and we have contacted the organization in Bulawayo and they have promised to get us a clearing agent who can help us to transport them to Uganda. They should get us a quotation and we find resources though a rigorous process to find funds to move the boxes to Uganda, Lwengo District.”

Luckily, we were able to provide the transportation funds for the final part of the trip.

“Praise Lord!

Today I was praying early in the morning and I was inspired that God can do above we think and ask. My prayer to every heart is the will to make it happen to those in need. Am glad for the efforts you timely make and I strongly believe God will bless the works of your hands. However, we have put in more prayers and rosaries for God to find a way for us. As the need prevails, we shall get back to you for your kind attention to realize our dream of having boxes received and in Uganda. The struggle continues. Hope God who started this good work will finish it.”

The original soccer ball we sent one year ago.

Soccer balls for every student, soccer balls and equipment for all the local schools!

Volley ball!

Pencils for everyone!

Teachers!

Crayons!

We are so grateful to be able to share our love of God with the children of the Kyamaganda parishes. Truly, prayers on two continents have been answered.

“With smiling heart and face, am happy to inform you that your donated 52 boxes of books, learning materials and sports and games equipments have arrived today in Uganda and at Kyamaganda Community Development Organization. My team was happy with the Bible’s too which will strengthen the spiritual nurture of our project staff.

Thank you so much and the struggle continues and in life our hope will never get dry.

Stay blessed, Willy”

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24

5,000 School Books Reach Nigeria

June 2, 2018Kids and Community Servicebook lovers, children and community service, children's charities, Community Service, donating books to Africa, donating children's books, literature, Nigeria, US-Africa Children's Fellowshiphomeschoolhappymess One comment

By Sebastian

This month, Wonderland BookSavers shipped 100 boxes of books, adding up to 5,000 total books, to Nigeria! This is our first shipment there, and we’re so excited to be able to make a contribution, thanks to our awesome liaison on the ground, Mark Grashow! The state of education in Nigeria is very dire, with more children out of school than anywhere else in the world; 40% of primary school-age kids do not ever attend school. Nigeria’s population growth over the last decade has made it even more difficult for the already struggling government to provide basic public services. This has especially impacted education, with about half of the current population under the age of 15. In many parts of Nigeria, there are simply not enough schools, and children often have to walk many miles to get there. Unfortunately, even where there are schools closer together, these schools frequently lack proper facilities such as a water-proof structure, toilets, books, basic school supplies and qualified teachers. Moreover, families often need children to go to work to help support their survival. In fact, perhaps one of the biggest factors is that families cannot afford to pay the required fees for uniforms and school books.

Our hope is that we can provide some relief to schools and families by providing those needed books directly, so that the quality and possibility of education might be a little improved for some children. We are so grateful to try to do a little part to make sure that Nigerian children can get access to education which we so often take for granted!

Packed by The Wonderland BookSaver Team!

ZappRx Partnership Brings Books to New Horizons in Africa

September 12, 2016Kids and Community Servicechildren's book clubs, donating books to Africa, donating children's books, homeschool happymess, kids and community service, Wonderland BookSavers, ZappRxhomeschoolhappymess Leave a comment

Our community partner, Zoe Barry, Founder and CEO of ZappRx,, recently traveled to Uganda and Rwanda.

Kampala, a large city in Uganda

Roadside market, Rwanda

Zoe traveled light, with only 33 pounds of allowable packed luggage, she made the most of it,

packing paperback stories, coloring books and crayons

for distribution to children throughout her trip.

Note: Cautionary tales promoting chastity are posted on the closed shutters when this “dialy” school is done for the day.

Young girl in foreground is balancing a machete on her head. Obviously more coordinated than most US toddlers!

Armed guards accompanied Zoe and her companion as they delivered books.

Everyone loves to see themselves!

Zoe, delivering books to members of the Batwa Pygmy Tribe.

Ahh…Africa…

Wonderland BookSavers Donates 15,000 Books to Zimbabwe and Ghana

June 20, 2016Kids and Community Service501(c)(3), book lovers, children and community service, children's book clubs, Community Service, donating books to Africa, donating children's books, homeschooling community service, kids and community service, kids service projects, US-Africa Children's Fellowship, Wonderland BookSaversmadelinelangdon Leave a comment

By Madeline

On Thursday June 9, Team Wonderland BookSavers donated 15,000 books which are currently headed to Zimbabwe and Ghana. Along with the books, we also donated over 100 letters written by the children at the Wetherbee School in Massachusetts. These letters will be going to children in Zimbabwe.

a folder brimming with the letters

We methodically sorted the books based on whether they were primary or secondary reading level. Then, we packed the sorted books into labeled boxes.

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Our community partner Mark Grashow, the president and co-founder of US Africa Children’s Fellowship, came with a tractor-trailer for us to fill with our books which will be delivered to Africa. When Mark arrived, we began loading our books into his truck.

We carefully arranged the boxes to maximize the space and to ensure that the boxes were secure so the books would be safe.

After we finished laboriously transporting the heavy boxes of books from our palettes in the garage into Mark’s truck, Mark pulled out some pictures from his trips to Africa. He showed us children holding our books, and also recounted some stories of the children’s excitement when they receive our books.

I had the chance to interview Mark:

We are excited for our books to arrive in Zimbabwe and Ghana, and we can’t wait to see pictures and hear more stories about the children receiving our books!

Title 1 School Donates Books to Zimbabwe

May 9, 2016Kids and Community Service501(c)(3), book lovers, children and community service, children's book clubs, donating books to Africa, donating children's books, kids and community service, kids service projects, Wonderland BookSaversmadelinelangdon Leave a comment

written by Brooks MorganToday, 5/9/16, we visited Emily G. Wetherbee school in Massachusetts. We are thrilled with their generosity. Francine, writing coach and head of community service said, “We’re trying to teach our students, here, to give to others. I work in a community where the kids get 100% free lunch and they get a lot of free services; it is a community of poverty and yet, we try to teach them that it doesn’t matter; you can still give to others. This is one way for students to share with other people.” Francine’s words reflect our mission, the greatest gift is giving.A 4^th grade class helped us load the car with all the boxes that were donated. They were all very nice. Joshua was very good at carrying and organizing the boxes, Denise was so nice for holding the door open for those carrying boxes, otherwise we would have been locked out. Cameron, Adrian, Brady, Ninio, and Jose were very strong and able to carry the boxes to and into the car. Cameron, Joshua, Denise, Adrian, and Brady were also very good at answering some of our questions.

Sombreros and sticky letters for the kids in Zimbabwe

A letter one of the fourth graders wrote to the kids in Zimbabwe

Some of the books donated to us by the Wetherbee School

After loading the car, I went inside and continued interviewing Francine. Francine spoke about the importance of giving to others, Alison, our team manager, said, “I think that’s so important, for kids who don’t have much to be able to give to other children. That’s one of the reasons that we started this letter writing campaign. We know it’s a way that kids can share with others, you can give a letter or a picture as a way to communicate. Francine added, “And I’ve read some of the letters and one or two of them almost made me cry because they’re saying something like ‘your new friend from America.’ At 4^th grade, the kids are just so open, you know, they don’t know these people at all but they saw the video and saw what the situation was and thought oh, wow, we get to give them books!”Before we left, Francine wanted to give us more things to share with the children in Zimbabwe. She found a huge box of sticky foam letters and pictures and a huge stack of sombreros! We had a great time talking to the children and collecting the books. We hope to go back again if they want to collect some more books for us!

Written by Brooks Morgan

Greens Farms Academy donates books to Wonderland BookSavers

May 2, 2016Kids and Community Servicechildren and community service, Community Service, donating books to Africa, donating children's books, Greens Farms Academy, Wonderland BookSaversmadelinelangdon Leave a comment

By Madeline

A few weeks ago, Greens Farms Academy, a private co-ed school in Westport, Connecticut, donated several boxes of books to Wonderland BookSavers.

Posing with the donated books. Left to right: Madeline; Claire; Christine Fecteau, Lower School Librarian and Director of Library Services; Emma

We are thrilled to add Greens Farms Academy to our list of community partners, and we will be donating their books to the schools in Africa we support. Our community partner, Mark Grashow, the President and Co-Founder of US Africa Children’s Fellowship, told us that we “currently are supporting the education of 170,000 children in 350 schools in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ghana.” These books will have a tremendous impact, and will enable many children to further their education.

recipients of our books

children holding our books

Greens Farms Academy also has several outreach initiatives of its own, including the World Perspectives Program, Seed to Table, and a Sustainability Council. These programs focus on both local community service and involving students in their global community.Team Wonderland BookSavers is grateful for the books Greens Farms Academy has donated to us, and we will use these books to continue fulfilling our mission of promoting global literacy.

Brownies for Books by Emma

July 31, 2014Kids and Community Servicebook lovers, children's book clubs, children's libraries, donating books to Africa, donating children's books, homeschool happymess, kids and community service, lemonade for literacy, Pequot Library, summer reading, Wonderland BookSavershomeschoolhappymess Leave a comment

We know it is finally midsummer with the arrival of the Annual Pequot Library Book Sale.

This sale is the largest in New England. Thousands of book lovers come from the surrounding areas, some as far north as Massachusetts and New Hampshire, some as far south as New Jersey. The tents are filled with dog-eared and beloved books on every subject. Booksellers, book lovers and book browsers peruse the books, each searching (and finding) those unique volumes that will inspire and delight.

These past three days we went to the Pequot Library and set up a lemonade stand in rain and sunshine. We all huddled under an umbrella as it poured and were still huddled under it for shade when it was sunny. We made $212 by selling lemonade, different kinds of cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. I enjoyed making the brownies with my two little brothers and sister.

On the last day of the sale we used our money for a great deal: $5 a box! We bought 40 boxes of wonderful children’s books, over two thousand books filled with facts, fiction and fantasy. We chose classics, illustrated novels and inspiring picture books. Many of these books we have read and loved ourselves.

The volunteer cashier was very impressed and asked to have a picture taken with us. She wrote down the quote on the back of our shirts, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free,” by Frederick Douglass.

Soon we will pack up the boxes and ship them to different parts of Africa, with the help of a donating corporation.

My favorite part of this process was giving a cookie and lemonade to our first customer, a little girl with a beautiful smile.

Wonderland Booksavers and their team managers meet with Mark Grashow (center)

Members of the Wonderland Booksavers and their sister team, Project I.C.E., met with Mark Grashow, founder and head of the US Africa Children’s Fellowship, yesterday. Grashaw shared his story: a former math teacher, he became involved in providing school supplies and other important items to impoverished children in several African countries. USAC has supported over 70,000 children in 165 schools in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Ghana. Grashow’s inspirational presentation inspired us to do more to help USAC. Books are important to help children get an education, but other things can be helpful too. Based on Grashow’s advice, we are now planning to collect shoes so kids can walk to school, or toys which can be kept at schools to increase school attendance.

We sent Grashow away with a donation of 750 primary and secondary level books, which he will deliver to Africa himself.

The Wonderland BookSavers got their start for the school year, packing books to send to Africa with the US-Africa Children’s Fellowship. Books were carefully sorted by age level (primary and secondary) and labeled. We’re really excited to see where these books are headed! We look forward to meeting with the founder and head of the organization that will aid us in distributing the books.