IBP relies on the generosity and kindness of the Lexington community to fulfill its mission to the developing world. Many from the community donate books, while others volunteer their time in our warehouse. The impact our projects have on a community highlight the self-evident truth that access to information is a fundamental human right. This essential right not only sustains literacy and development, but serves as the foundation of a participatory democracy; a fact evident in the intellectual and social stagnation present in societies that embrace censorship.
As the developing world devises policies intended to promote progress, the need for educational resources has become obvious. A decade ago the Kenyan government began to offer free primary education for its citizens. Government sanctioned studies indicate that this policy has had a tremendous effect on the success of the Kenyan public education system. In fact since this policy, Kenya has emerged as a leader in education in comparison to its East African counterparts. The pass rate of Kenyan children on the regional English test is more than double that of Tanzanian children (39 percentage points higher), and is 29 percentage points higher than children from Uganda.[1] However, the better performance of Kenyan pupils is only relative. It still remains the case that only one-third of 3rd graders can pass a 2nd grade test.[2]
It is these issues that act as a driving force behind IBP’s mission. IBP relies on the generosity and kindness of the Lexington community to fulfill its mission to the developing world. Many from the community donate books, while others volunteer their time in our warehouse. Virginia Grimes, a senior at Henry Clay High School in Lexington, KY came to IBP a year ago as a volunteer.
As Virginia’s commitment grew she approached IBP in the interest of starting a mentorship with Tracy Taylor, Executive Director of the International Book Project. At the beginning of her mentorship Virginia shared enthusiasm for working with IBP’s overseas partners in the hope of sending a sea container (30-40,000 books), IBP’s largest type of shipment. After countless hours of poring through the thousands of applications IBP receives annually, Virginia chose seven partners in Kenya to collaborate with in her endeavor to ship a sea container.
This month IBP will prepare and pack Virginia’s project which represents the culmination of this 200+ hrs. of work. Virginia has not only raised over half of the funds necessary, but has worked closely with our partners to ensure that all the resources will be put to great use. As part of her fundraising, Virginia worked closely with UK student Elyse Hayes in designing a t-shirt in order to raise funds for this project. This project will serve a number of organizations from schools, community groups, and libraries, that all share one thing in common: a severe lack of much needed textbooks.
If you would like to support this project you can still purchase a t-shirt by clicking on the picture or contact Virgnia at: friendsofibp@intlbookproject.org
