African Insights African Insights - June 2007

Send a Book…to Africa...

September 3^rd I am back off to Uganda.  Taking that long flight from Seattle to Amsterdam and then off to Entebbe, Uganda…The things are coming together for me and this time it means putting everything into storage while I am gone…everything…my African drums, tables, chairs, carvings…even my favorite pots and pans ( I enjoy cooking).  I am taking some good knives with me and quite a few of spices that I will use in the guesthouses in Uganda.

All of this meaning, that today was sort of a thing day.  I looked at this thing and that thing, in most cases realizing that they are merely things and though they have brought me pleasure and enjoyment … they are simply things and the attachment to them has waned over the years, realizing that all of them can be replaced, but friendships and relationships are more important than the possessions in the place I call home right now.

There is one exception to all of this…my books…they are like friends, they have brought me enjoyment, laughter, some even evoked a tear or two…I have found that some books are like a meaningful conversation, and often I will put a book down and say something to myself regarding the passage I just read.

This afternoon I went through my library, taking some of the books out and handling them…Reliving the memories that they gave me as their gift on a cold winter evening near the fireplace or on warm June day on my deck overlooking the harbor.

Books are like old friends and ever since I was a young boy growing up in post-war Germany, they brought me joy, knowledge, information and the ability to look beyond my present world and circumstance to the places I read about such as America, Africa and Asia. 

Our town library was in a former hospital, the same place that I spent some time at when I recovered from a 10 meter fall off our balcony. Though there were thousands of books lining the walls, one could still get  a whiff of that unique hospital scent…

I read most everywhere in those days, even after I was tucked into bed by my mother, out came my flashlight and another hour would be spent enjoying the adventure sagas of Karl May that famous German author that most every German child grew up with.  Books always have had a special place in my life and still do so today…Many of you probably feel similarly as I do…

Now…go with me to Africa—to Uganda….Children growing up, many of them might even attend school for a time, learn to read, but there is one missing element in their lives that we have so bountifully—BOOKS!! 

There may be text books, instructional books, but there will be no school library (or one with old and outdated books such as encyclopedias from the west) and far too few lending libraries in Africa.  In most homes there will also be an absence of that shelf with books on it.  You and I may have filled bookshelves throughout our homes…., but in Uganda you can count yourself quite fortunate to have even ONE book in your home—certainly not a children’s book!

African children are surrounded by the aches of life whereas most children in the Western world are insulated from life’s struggles..  There are not many ways for Africa’s children to vent their youthful vigor—indeed they’re lucky to have one soccer ball in their neighborhood; most of their days will consist of performing mundane daily chores.

As I spent times with children in Uganda, I thought how simple it would be to create a library for the ones with whom I worked and made regular contact—a place they could visit and quietly read, or check out a book and take it home and become acquainted with its characters and storyline.

Pause to consider children like Precious or Pretty…two girls, six and eleven years old…they are now in school, but, several months ago when I visited their home in Uganda,  there was one bed, a small couch, a chair, a small radio…and NO BOOKS!  Their father has passed on because of AIDS, their mother is AIDS afflicted and even these two precious little girls have been diagnosed with this deadly disease.

I want to give children like Precious and Pretty—and other Ugandan children-- times with some good friends—good books!!  Times where they just might roar with laughter, forget their present world (even if just for a few hours) and dream of what could be just as I did and as you probably did when you were a child.

If you would like to help a child in Uganda by giving them a book or two…(the age range we are considering is between six and fourteen)…please consider this.   Some of you might have a few books around the house that could use some new friends in Africa. It’s not that difficult to send them to East Africa and can be done at a reasonable cost from the USA…ask for the $11.50 flat rate envelope that can easily be shipped to Uganda with two or three paperback books…the children who will read them will be grateful to you for giving them hours of joy, laughter, meaningful thoughts and so much more….HOPE!!!

Below are instructions as to how to ship books to Africa...a

Thank you for reading this African Insights…and thank you for helping to make my “book dream” a reality…jon

Last updated: 22 August 2008

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