“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” Malala Yousafzai

A rural teacher sent me the attached picture and I’m well aware of the grim realities of kids. Etse and I are going to Ethiopia in June 2017 and we aim to take pen, pencils (stationery) from here. Plus, we’ve decided to donate £500 from our own savings which would have been spent on a wedding. We will use this money to buy books which are published locally in Ethiopia. A pen or a book has more than its material significance - it inspires, motivates and encourages children to learn to read and write - we know it's a powerful tool. So join us in helping remote rural children in Ethiopia with stationery and books.

The pen, they say, is “mightier than the sword”. It literally is – you know the Malala story and how education empowers girls and boys to demand and stand for their rights. Education is the most effective way to achieve equality.

I, Getaneh, am a witness to the power of just a single book. My life changed forever when my father, Agegn Alemu, a farmer in a remote northern Ethiopia village, took me to a school which he himself helped to build. Forget the 90 minutes long walk to school every morning, the scorching sun and the poverty then but I'll never forget my first book which was a small English to Amharic dictionary that my father brought me from somewhere, which had its beginning and ending pages torn apart and missing, nonetheless that was my first book.

NO COFFEE IN MAY. For this cause, though I'm a coffee lover and addict, I plan to cut ALL coffee for the whole month of May 2017. I will use the money to buy books for kids. I hereby ask you to DONATE any PENS, PENCILS and any amount of MONEY to buy books published in Ethiopia and I can assure you I'll personally distribute it to the kids themselves.

Yes, one pen and one book can change a child's life forever, it did mine.

Thank you,

Dr Getaneh Alemu
Mobile: 07540097109
Email: getaneh@gmail.com