Dear Friends of BCC,
Our library is almost complete! This week the facility will be used for the first time, hosting a five day peer-educator training seminar on adolescent reproductive health. Your support helped make BCC’s dream a reality, and we are excited to share some of the highlights of the last few months.
In addition to completing the building, in a few weeks we’ll be releasing Bushiglory, an eight-track CD with songs by BCC staff and children. Thanks to Rachael Keeler, we’ve also been able to produce a 12-page color booklet with lyrics and translations to accompany the joyful singing on the CD. Copies will be on sale on our blog (proceeds to support the library) by the end of December for $20 + shipping and handling (discounts for students and schools available).
The CD will be one more way for us to introduce people to the Mbale community. Throughout the year, we’ve been privileged to share stories, music, pictures, and lessons from our Ugandan students at many venues, including the Westchester Coalition on Global Poverty & AIDS and Kol Ami, a synagogue in White Plains. The enthusiasm, interest, and generosity with which people received the project have been so helpful and so moving. If you know of a group that might like to hear about Mbale and its library, please put us in touch with them!
Most inspiring has been the way the library has brought together students and children in support of their peers in Mbale. Through a partnership with New Bridge International Learning Center, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh graders in Chicago have begun a pen-pal program with students at Joshua Primary School. Third graders at camp Ramah Nyack participated in a swim-a-thon to raise money for the library. As part of her senior internship at Solomon Schechter of Westchester, Tali Cohen sold candy and hosted car washes among other programs to help raise awareness and funds. We are so impressed by the work of these students and hope that working on these projects has helped them understand both the challenges and the opportunities we have in trying to make a difference in the world.
Since breaking ground last May, we’ve been focusing efforts on raising funds to furnish and outfit the building with the books, computers, and materials it needs to serve the community. Over sixty friends and supporters gathered in New York in September to learn about and support the library. We are $4,000 on our way toward our goal of raising $20,000 to complete the library and every donation counts! $20 buys a chair, $60 buys a table, $100 a bookcase, and $1,000 a computer…all of which go towards educating and sustaining the Mbale community. Donations can be made at paypal (the button just to the right!) or mailed to 223 Albemarle Rd White Plains, NY 10605. AFBCC is a registered 501(c)3 and all donations are tax-deductible. During these challenging economic times, the community continues to look to us to help them plant the seeds for a sustainable future, and we hope we can count on your support.
In May we asked for your help as we got ready to break ground, now let’s work together to get the library off the ground!
Happy Holidays,
Maital
Breaking Ground
Beginning to Build
Construction
Almost Done
Thank you
