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Cases and Frames donated by
the Book Wish Foundation to help refugees in Chad. |
There are three beleaguered refugee camps in Chad that
are populated with embattled souls who have survived the
genocide outburst in Darfur, Sudan. A valiant group of
interested parties are helping these refugees learn English
so that they might be prepared for higher education,
including attendance at college. This could provide an
important path toward their survival. One of these groups is
known as The Book Wish Foundation, located in Reston, VA.
Their concept is, "to provide reading relief and
empower people in crisis through education."
Book Wish hopes to build libraries and provide books and
education for the more than 60,000 refugees in Eastern Chad
.While supplying books is a salient effort, it is only part
of the organization's aims. Reading glasses will also be
dispensed as an integral part of the program. There is also
a plan to send solar powered audio discs to the camps.
A British group named CORD has cooperated in the program.
They have established an educational system in three of the
camps. The Book Wish organization gathers the books,
spectacles and other needs to make the event operational.
Logan and Lorraine Kleinwaks are the dedicated creators of
the Book Wish Foundation. Their sacrifices, passion and
devotion to their undertaking are astounding in its depth.
They were inspired by a story that appeared in the
Washington Post. It concerned a refugee in one of the Chad
camps who loved to read. He had a particular interest in
economics. However, he was able to rescue only a few books
as he escaped Darfur. He would read the same books over and
over again. Tales surfaced of young refugee students who
were willing to sit on the hot desert sand, with no shade,
just to learn from the books in a classroom setting.
Logan and Lorraine think that providing books, "will
give these children and adults a second chance in
life." Another important constituent in their program
is the supply of spectacles to those villages which are
participants. Logan Kleinwaks and his mother, Lorraine do
not receive any remuneration or salary. The Foundation
solicits funds for specific needs such as reading eyewear.
Lorraine worked many years in the U.S. Dept. of Education
and is a volunteer at the Reston, VA regional library. She
has earned an M.S. degree in education. Her son, Logan, has
a background in math and physics research. He studied at
Princeton University and is a published author of many
articles in physics and biology. Book Wish was created in
Oct., 2007.
During my interview with Lorraine Kleinwaks, she
revealed, "We saw how the presence of books, where
there were none before, could enhance and change many lives
in Eastern Chad." The Book Wish drive has captured the
interest and imagination of many other areas in crisis.
Uganda, The Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan and the
Philippines have all been encouraged by the Kleinwaks
experience.
Logan and Lorraine are spreading the theme of
"reading relief" which can act as an aid for
people in crisis. They claim that to satisfy educational,
occupational and motivational goals for the refugees will
require not only books but also spectacles as a vital cog in
the wheel that propels the program.
Logan states, "We began by seeking 1,750 pairs of
reading glasses. So far, 1,370 spectacles have been
donated." Various optical companies in the U.S. have
helped out. There is a British group called "Sight
Station" who donated 304 fashionable readers complete
with suede cases and are the Foundation's largest donor.
Many spectacles were received by Book Wish without cases.
Their appeal for cases was met with a timely donation of
2,000 cases from the Astucci Co. and seven hundred from Dr.
Walter Drill, a Lansdale, PA optometrist. Another
appreciated donor is the "For Eyes Co." Most of
the readers are brand new with the price tag often still
attached. Some donations consisted of recycled readers.
Equation, L.L.C. supplied 169 recycled reading glasses as
well as sunwear and some common prescription lenses each
mounted in a frame. The Northern Virginia Optical Society
has pledged to locate as many of the remaining 400 readers
that are needed for the villagers in Chad. Reaching above
and beyond their initial pledge they have agreed to
neutralize prescription glasses donated by individuals and
categorize them. They will provide eye charts to be
distributed for V.A. testing for those subjects requiring a
basic distance correction as well as near.
October 2009 will witness the first shipment to the
refugee camps. The rainy season that bedevils the Chad area
will cause a slight delay in plans but activity will peak at
the start of the new school year there. Anne Goddard,
Program manager of CORD was overwhelmed in the Bredjing
Refugee Camp when the new books arrived. She reported,
"Everyone was having fun and playing with the new
books. They were eager and intently learning word by word
and sentence by sentence. When one of the refugees saw the
books his eyes lit up and I know he cannot wait to learn and
later teach from them. The occupants of these camps are
determined to read English. They say that this will be their
"road to freedom."
PRVAIL (Partners in Restoring Vision and Improving Lives)
is a non profit agency specializing in supplying reading
glasses for other vision care group's programs. The Book
Wish Foundation has received 302 pairs of spectacles from
them. PRVAIL has supplied over 650,000 glasses to people
around the world. Smart Eyes, L.L.C. has been responsible
for supplying about half the needs of one Chad camp by
donating 278 pairs of reading glasses. They have
thoughtfully supplied masculine styles as well as the
dominant feminine styles for the villager’s selections.
ClearVision Optical has joined the fray by donating 100
designer cases for the reading glasses via Book Wish
Foundation.
Cases assume a high priority need since the glasses will
be used in a harsh desert environment. Logan pointed out to
me, "We must consider the fact that the recipients of
the cases will extend the useful life of the glasses where
protective storage, cleaning supplies, repair kits or spare
glasses are in short supply."
Logan and Lorraine Kleinwaks appeal to ophthalmic
providers and suppliers to help solve the still unmet needs
of their project. They are industriously trying to raise
funds for two projects that are directly connected to
reading glasses. One brick library costs about $20,000.
There will be a sample construction of the first of four
that are planned for the area. An additional task to
overcome is to fill these libraries with 5,000 books each in
order for them to be effective. Solar lighting will be
tested for small groups of people who may be reading
together at night.
Anyone who wishes to participate and help this worthy
undertaking may donate money and/or readers directly to Book
Wish Foundation, 11606 Brandon Hill Way Reston, VA 20194
-1215 or visit their website at www.bookwish.org
There is an appropriate old adage that comes to mind:
"For the unlearned, it is always winter; to the
learned, it is harvest time." It is hoped that we can
help to fulfill the hopes and deep desires of these
unfortunate, victimized people to learn and start on the
road to a better existence.
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