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Book Delivery Update
January 10, 2000
Dear Book
Project Supporter,
I wish each of you a happy and prosperous
New Year. I hope you had a wonderful (and restful) holiday
season with your family and friends.
Jeff and I are busily preparing for
book delivery season, which will begin January 20 and
end March 5. Due in part to your generous support, we'll
have the honor of handing out 18,607 vital text and
library books to 4,273 schoolchildren at 20 schools.
We will also be kicking off the second, third, and forth
years at our existing 30 schools, which continue to
serve over 11,000 students. By this spring, our project
will have positively impacted the lives of over 15,000
schoolchildren. Since books improve the quality of a
child's education by over 80%, this represents a dramatic,
positive change in Guatemala, which will pay huge dividends,
both now and in the future. Thank you for all that you
have done to help make this project a success!
"I can't believe we will actually
be receiving books this year. No one has ever helped
us before. On behalf of the families of this community,
thank you and God bless you."
This is a common comment made by
principals and teachers when they hear that enough money
has been raised in the U.S. to buy them books for the
upcoming school year. Jeff and I continue to be touched
by the efforts put forth by some of these individuals.
Principals will often walk for miles or ride in a crowded
"chicken bus" to the nearest town center,
wait in long lines, then call on a crackling public
phone to place their book requests. Often times the
circuits are busy, so they have to go back to the end
of the line and try all over again. It may take the
better part of a day to make their requests, but they
make this --and other--huge sacrifices, because they
see the book project as a rare opportunity to help their
children have a better future.
I look forward to giving you a full
account of the book deliveries, when I return from Guatemala
this spring. I will be in Guatemala handing out books
between January 20 and April 15. I will be reachable
only by e-mail. If you need to speak to someone by phone,
please leave a message at the COED office (513) 731-2595
and one of our volunteers will return your call within
two business days.
Thank you again for all that you
do to make this project a success.
With warm regards,
Joe Berninger
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