Hi friends,
We hope you're doing well and enjoying the summer! We're excited to tell you about some new developments in Kenya.
You may remember that this spring we launched the Library & Learning Resource Centre at Talek Primary School, a bare bones public school with 1100 students in the Maasai Mara. There's nothing else like this Library in the region. Well, on July 6th, Amos Kipeen (our director in Kenya) and the school held an official "public launch" of the Library. We thought a handful of people would show up — but over 1000 people came to celebrate this opening!
We're beginning to grasp the profound impact and potential of this program in Kenya. The initiative started so modestly, but with such local enthusiasm we are doubling down now to expand it. The teachers at Talek Primary are calling their Library the community's "Hub of Transformation."
Next, we dream of developing a Library for Maasai Mara High School not far from the Talek school (with a Science Lab to follow). We did a lot of research on the ground to identify the next school in need and where we could make a real difference, and we chose this one. So few students in this area make it to high school, and these young people are among the most motivated. Please read more about this project and consider helping if you can:
We love the motto of Maasai Mara High School: LEARN TO SHINE. These students deserve the chance to learn, grow, and become leaders, role models, and active contributors to their communities and the world. All of this is possible because of your support, and we are grateful to you. Your gift will go 100% to the project.
We believe there is no greater power than literacy and education and no better way to invest in positive change.
Thank you!!
~Barb & the team at OliveSeed
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MAASAI MARA HIGH SCHOOL
Scenes from Amos's recent visit to the school
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Please help us bring a beautiful library — a Hub of Transformation — to this school. If you have questions, contact us any time!
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For background on the previous Talek Primary School project, see the article written by Gregory Omondi from Text Book Centre in Nairobi: Talek Learning Resource Centre, a Gift That Lasts Forever.
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MLP STORY COMPETITION
We're delighted to report that the anthology from our 2020 MLP Short Story Competition is now in print, and 80 copies are on their way to student libraries in rural Morocco! Can you imagine how a student will feel pulling her story off a bookshelf in a library? In a community that never had a library like this before? If you'd like to see this anthology, the ebook version is viewable for free.
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The 2021 Competition is wrapping up this summer, and we plan to publish an anthology from that Competition as well. We hope to have an event in Morocco this fall honoring all of these young writers.
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EARTH DAY 2021
On Earth Day this year (April 22nd), we held a virtual event with students from California, Morocco, Kenya, and Pakistan presenting videos on their environmental projects. One of our goals has always been to engage young Californians with their counterparts abroad, and this was a great way to do it. Thanks to all who came that night!
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We are a 501c3 public-charity nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible in the U.S. as allowed by law. Your gift goes 100% to the project.
From all of us at OliveSeed, thank you!
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