Pencils are the foundational building block of writing in school. Each child learns early how to write and recognize letters.

Pencils are ever present in school supply lists globally.

Donated pencils and school supplies strengthen and support learning/education in Africa.

For many kids, being able to go to school with a new backpack filled with supplies helps them stay on track. Giving them the tools to learn is so important for setting a tone for the entire year. Together we are providing them with the tools that they need to succeed.
 

The happy faces of the kids with their school supplies are captivating. It is so heart-warming to see the broad smiles on their faces. Having school supplies means a lot to them.  We are truly helping them to do better at school and making a positive difference.

The supplies that we together provide are hard to come by or expensive in some areas. They help to stretch the budget of families - as they don't have to spend their meager resources on purchasing supplies. In some instances, the kids often end up not having some of these supplies at all - as they are beyond the financial ability of the families. The schools also cherish and enthusiastically welcome the supplies.

Thank YOU for caring and giving!

Develop Africa is mentioned in the story as Colleen drops off her collected school supplies (just like in real-life). Also, at the very end of the book, there is information about Develop Africa and how you can get involved.

School Supplies and Develop Africa:
The first program that Develop Africa implemented was the scholarship program - providing funds to ensure kids could stay in school. Given that school supplies are one of the categories that parents spend funds on, the parents appealed that we also provide school supplies. By having donated supplies, any remaining funds could be focused towards other areas, such as lunch for the kids etc.

We communicated this request for school supplies on the website and newsletter. Since then, the volume of donated school supplies has increased each year. We currently receive an average of 5+ boxes of supplies each week. Some school teachers have held drives for several years. Collecting school supplies is a great learning activity for groups, organizations, and businesses of all kinds. Some of the groups/organizations/activities that have donated school supplies include

• School classes
• Offices/businesses
• Individuals
• Birthday parties (supplies instead of gifts)
• Extracurricular groups / clubs
• Girls scouts troops/groups

From the Develop Africa Team: 
If there is one thing that truly touches our hearts, it is a child or children working hard to make a difference in the world.  We are so very thankful to the many children that have shared supplies, letters, photos, raised money, even shared videos for school projects.  We are also so thankful to the teachers and adults that didn't discourage these kids as being "too small" or not having enough to make an impact.  

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, was wasted." - Aesop

Everything we receive, whether a photo or letter, a single dollar even one pencil makes a difference in another child's life and again we say thank you to our many young heroes from around the world that are making a difference each and every day! 

We gratefully acknowledge the hundreds of individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses who have sent to Develop Africa school supplies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2008. 

This story would not have been possible without you.  We are delighted to share with you some of the photos in this album and letters in this album.

When you run your school supply, we would love to share your story and photos. 

Vision Summary

• The struggle that the kids in Africa have with education concerns us.
• We are convinced we can be part of the solution by providing school supplies.
• We believe every child deserves and has the right to get a good education. 
• We are convinced that we can help children become better leaders of tomorrow by ensuring that they have an enhanced educational foundation.
• We realize that supplies are just one part of the solution.  We welcome other initiatives to boost education such as volunteer service, better teacher training, improved classrooms etc.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss this.