ISSN 1710-6931 May 5, 2006 Issue 72
FEATURE ARTICLES

Yard Sale Raises Money for Ghana Book Shipment

by Lillian Langford

Who would have thought that some old sweaters, stuffed animals, Christmas tree ornaments, and an incomplete set of golf clubs (circa 1971) could be worth so much?

A few months ago, Lakeland, Florida resident Cherish Welch learned, through an incredible stroke of good fortune, of a large amount of children's books that were soon to be discarded. Remembering what I had told her about RESPECT and its work with refugee populations worldwide, she contacted me to inquire about the possibility of shipping the books to a refugee school in Africa. She was subsequently able to obtain seven boxes full of them for this purpose.

After researching and contacting RESPECT founder Marc Schaeffer for ideas, we decided to send the books to Buduburam Community Refugee School in Ghana, which accommodates over 2000 refugee students and 55 trained teachers, but lacks a library. RESPECT Coordinator and Buduburam teacher Anthony Macedo Barlee confirmed the school's need for a library and expressed enthusiasm at the project. The problem was finding adequate funds to ship approximately 350 hardcover books to Ghana. Yard Sale

PHOTO GALLERY

Cherish and Lillian

Cherish (left) and Lillian (right) at the RESPECT literature table and doughnut stand at a yard sale to raise money to pay the costs of shipping books to refugee students at the Buduburam Community Refugee School in Ghana.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Want To Volunteer?

RESPECT International depends on volunteers from around the world. We find most of our volunteers using the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Online Volunteering website. When we identify a need for volunteers, we post an assignment on the UNV website.

You can find a list of our current volunteer assignments by going to the UNV online volunteering Group Search page. Enter RESPECT in the Group Name field and click on the Search button at the bottom of the form.

Also, we would like to hear from you if you have ideas to help us meet our mission of increasing awareness of refugee issues among non-refugee students in participating countries. Contact our International Coordinator Marc Schaeffer at respect@respectrefugees.org.

AFFILIATES

RESPECT University – The Vision and Beyond

by Ashok Pillai
RESPECT University Coordinator

RESPECT University (RU) to me is an institution without borders, an institution that gives everyone freedom of expression and an opportunity to learn. It brings together highly motivated individuals who are eager to share their knowledge with young inquisitive minds who have very little possibility to go beyond the four walls of their schools. RESPECT University

As in any newsletter or magazine, RESPECT e-zine is committed to striving for interesting articles and announcements concerning refugee issues all around the world.

If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute an article, contact the e-Zine editor, Will Wallace, at editor@respectrefugees.org.

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