Someone asked me the other day “how important is your education to you?” and I obviously answered by saying my education is one of the most important parts of my life. However, education has always been very accessible to me. Since the age of five I would wake up and my mom would drive me or I would take the bus to school. I would use the readily available resources that the school provided me in order to get the most out of my education. But when I think about what my education means to me I wonder what I would be willing to do in order to obtain it.
Recently, the International Book Project was contacted by a group of women from the Okoijorogu Village in Delta State, Nigeria. This group of women call themselves the “Delta Women” and they formed in order to reach out and try to better their community. There is no school in the village of Okoijorogu. The closest school is actually almost 2.5 miles away in a neighboring village. Each day the children in the village wake up and make this walk to a school that is far away, small, and has no chairs. The children brave bad weather, difficult terrain, and have to cross the Benin/Sapele Express Road on the way to the neighboring village. This road is a hub for traffic and construction and obviously poses a threat to the safety of the students.
Knowing that these children walked this path every day for 190 days out of the year so that they could get their education is both humbling and inspiring. As someone who has, at times, taken their education for granted I realize how much my education has helped me grow and learn. I am going to graduate from college this May and I feel as if my education has shaped me as a person and will continue to support me in my future. Everyone should be given the opportunity to receive their education and it is a hard realization to find that many do not have this option.
The Delta Women recognized this concern and decided to reach out in hopes of building a school in their village. In January of 2013 the State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan gave them approval for the construction of a nursery and primary school, which began the following August. With a new school a much shorter distance away, they contacted us to request books to stock their school and give the children a chance to have better accessibility to education.
We would love to see this library stocked today but in order for that to happen, we are going to need a lot of help. Just $10 will give 10 books to start this library.
So I must ask, what is an education worth?
Here is how you can help us stock the library today http://bit.ly/1nVxCdn
written by Taylor Maupin