Bookwish goes online for Cord’s Chad programme

An American based charity aimed at raising money for books for the Third World has chosen Cord as its first partner. Highlighting our work in Chad BOOKWISH are determined to fund textbooks for our entire education programme.

Lorraine Kleinwaks, a former grant reviewer and program specialist for post secondary education, gifted education, and vocational training at the U.S. Department of Education, and her son, Logan, have created a website charity aimed at helping our Sudanese refugee students in Bredjing, Treguine and Gaga camps who are looking to higher education- and who currently work with a handful of English Language textbooks from the l950’s.

‘Life for the refugees is at a terrible standstill,’ said Logan. ‘After years of world wide attention, their basic survival is still dependent on international aid, and they still cannot return home. We want to help them break through the stagnation. Education can help them take steps forward, where there is no possibility of taking steps backward. Knowledge, once acquired, is a possession that cannot be taken away. That is why we believe Cord's education programmes are so important. Education is progress. It might be the only way the refugees can progress.’

The website was inspired by an article in the Washington Post which featured a graduate living in Gaga camp who was starved of reading material. Cord’s Education Manager in the camps, Anne Goddard, is determined that some of her brightest students should one day get to university in Southern Sudan.

‘For that they need to have a good level of English,’ she said. ‘Bookwish is a great way forward for us, and donations are already coming in to help us better equip these young Sudanese. They are so keen to learn that they are prepared to do extra mural classes and to meet up in their own time to practise their conversation skills.’

If you would like to help a young Sudanese refugee by buying a text book then log on to www.bookwish.org