The children of Tanzania made such an impression on Lara and Joshua Wachs that they have started a Facebook page, called Pencils for Africa, to donate ONE MILLION PENCILS to schoolchildren in Tanzania.
Word on Facebook spread quickly. Donations of pencils, erasers, and pencil sharpeners have started to arrive from all over the United States. One school had a “hat day” where kids could wear a hat at school if they brought in three pencils to donate. In just a few months, Pencils for Africa has already received donations of over 6000 pencils!
Children with Pencils
“Believe it or not, the children in Tanzania are desperately in need of pencils, more than toys, pens, candy, or anything else,” says Lara Wachs. “Their faces lit up when they received pencils from us. And, I’ve heard this from so many travelers who go to Africa and third world countries, if I had only known that it was pencils they cared about most, I would have brought an entire extra bag with me full of them.”
Pencils for Africa need help in two ways:
- Donations of pencils (and erasers and non-electric sharpeners) are needed to reach the one million mark
- Help in getting the pencils to the kids in Tanzania
The costs of mailing the pencils to Tanzania are very high. One simple way to get the pencils to the children is by having travelers deliver them personally while on holiday in the country. Pencils for Africa can bundle the pencils for travelers and deliver them to New York City or mail them within the U.S. if shipping costs are paid.
Adventures Within Reach (AWR) arranged the trip for the Wachs in 2008 including a Kilimanjaro climb, Tanzania safari, and Zanzibar holiday. AWR will be working with Pencils for Africa to encourage travelers to make donations, take over pencils, and spread the word.
“It is very easy for any traveler to stick a bag of pencils in their suitcase, and their efforts will be greatly rewarded as they hand out the pencils to the children. The look on the children’s faces when they get things they need is an amazing experience,” says Robin Paschall of Adventures Within Reach.
For more information about Pencils for Africa and to help out, visit their Facebook page: