Education without paper

Africa (MNN) — As school shopping starts, one item on every student’s list of must-haves is paper. Imagine not having paper of any kind in school! No textbooks, no worksheets, and no notes. That’s the situation Ibrahim faced.

Ibrahim was a young African boy struggling through primary school. He was a bright student, and yet he was failing classes regularly. It wasn’t laziness or a lack of understanding that held him back; it was a lack of paper.

Ibrahim was an orphan, so he had no money to spare for notebooks. He couldn’t take notes, and as a result, on test days he had to rely solely on his memory from lessons that happened days, sometimes weeks, before. Years of failing the same grade again and again forced the teachers to graduate him to the next level because although he couldn’t keep up, he couldn’t improve without paper. As he fell behind his age group, he finally quit going to school, accepting the seemingly inevitable loss of a good education.

Enter Baptist Global Response and the Caring Center. Ibrahim moved into the Center, which provided food, clothes, and a home for orphans during the school term, all while imparting the Gospel to the students so they can have a brighter outlook. Baptist Global Response also provided him with the materials he had needed; a notepad filled with paper.

Baptist Global Response uses a unique program that allows participants to donate notebooks to students in Africa for only $.50 per notebook. The low cost makes it easy to make a difference to multiple kids like Ibrahim without sacrificing more than a few dollars.

Ibrahim re-enrolled, spending the first few years catching up on his failed classes. Now he is able to pass his classes and move forward at a steady learning pace. He is 16 years old and finishing up sixth grade; and although he is behind most of the other kids his age, he’s grateful to be getting the education he needs. In countries like his, that might mean the difference between a life of street poverty and a steady income from a decent job. And what did it cost? 50 cents.

Help kids like Ibrahim by giving and praying for their furthered education.