Tag Archives: books

Reading Time at Selamta Family Project

Selamta Family Project's own story, An Unlikely Family

Last week, I wrote about reading time at the Kibera School for Girls in Kenya and Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal. I’m happy to bookend that report with an update from Mia Brown at the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia. Just like the children in Kenya and Nepal, Selamta’s students love to read everyday! From in-class reading exercises to reading for fun after school, Selamta students dedicate a great portion of their day to reading.

The children at Selamta used to meet every Saturday morning to read together, but their family has grown so large they had to divide into three groups! The youngest children have the earliest reading time, and meet with Abel, Selamta’s director, for about an hour. Abel typically chooses Ethiopian fables, or other stories with moral lessons. The older children are often found reading Ethiopian novels long after the school day ends.

Each home at Selamta has its own bookcase that’s stocked with donated books. Most of the children’s books are in Amharic, Ethiopia’s national language. Mia commented during her recent trip she read “Knuffle Bunnies” and “Zak the Yak” to the students.

Of course, I couldn’t write a blog post about books at Selamta without highlighting that Selamta has its own book! Winner of four literary awards, “An Unlikely Family” tells the tale of the children whose lives have been uplifted by the Selamta Family Project. The book was written in collaboration with American volunteers and Selamta students. All children at Selamta have read “An Unlikely Family,” a story about their stories. To read my last post on this book, check out this link. One hundred percent of the book sales directly support the children at Selamta Family Project.

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“The More That You Learn, the More Places You’ll Go!”

Students at the Kibera School for Girls at reading time

Students at the Kibera School for Girls love reading time!

When I asked the directors of our She’s the First partner schools which books their students liked to read, I had no idea that I’d find myself saying, “That was my favorite book! I remember that one . . . and that one too!” I never would’ve guessed that young students in Nepal and Kenya love Charlotte’s Web or Ella Enchanted as much as I did in elementary school. What I wasn’t surprised by was the students’ absolute love of reading.

At the Kibera School for Girls in Kenya, all students have time set aside everyday for reading. Girls in 1st-3rd grade enjoy daily reading time in either the classroom or in the library.  The students also take turns reading aloud to the entire class. Some of their favorites are the Amelia Bedelia series and Frog and Toad. The pre-K and Kindergarten students love to listen to their teachers read Miss Wishy Washy and Elmo books. They also have plenty of time to practice their reading and look through colorful picture books.

Libby Doyne and Kopila Valley’s English teacher wrote that their students “can often be seen with their noses in a book at recess!” Even though the students read at the library everyday, they can’t get enough of their new favorite book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.  Their teacher said, “They even yell out to read faster when time is running out because they want to find out what happens before the bell rings.”  Some of the students even take the book home to read it again and again.  A few times a year, older students help teach their younger reading buddy.

These stories reminded me of Dr. Seuss’ quip, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go!” In writing this post, I was amazed to learn just how far my favorite childhood stories have traveled. Years ago, my friends and I used to giggle over Shel Silverstein’s silly poem “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too.”  Now, girls in Nepal are pouring through this same book, maybe even smiling over the same lines I did.  The joy that I found, and that you found too, in learning to read is the joy that our young generation of girls is discovering right now.  From the lines of #VoiceYourVerse poetry to a poem nestled in the well-worn pages of Where the Sidewalk Ends, you, me, and young girls thousands of miles away are united by the joy of learning.

Kopila Valley students' favorite new book!

Kopila Valley students' favorite new book!

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Great Holiday Gift for a Teen — and it Gives Back to STF!

Becca Wertheim - author, cupcake queen, and STF campus leader!

Did you know the newest She’s the First*{Campus} chapter is at the University of North Carolina – Asheville, and that the impressive founder, Becca Wertheim, is already a published author? Each month, her book, Live High on Life, supports an organization through an awareness platform called Project Twelve. Project Twelve supports the most deserving organizations which help young people. For November and December, Project Twelve is supporting She’s the First, which means that a portion of all book sales will go directly toward sponsoring girls’ education in the developing world!

We asked Becca to guest blog to explain more about how she is changing the world! Take it away, Becca!

***

I’ve been an avid fan of journaling since I was seven years old, when I received my very first journal as a gift. Writing soon became one of my favorite ways to express myself. The best part was that I could write down all my crazy awesome ideas of how I would change the world, and my journal couldn’t discourage me. It couldn’t say, “Becca, those things will never happen. They’re impossible.” Instead, it was just there, full of hundreds of blank sheets waiting for me to fill them. I’d write about how I wanted to be a teacher and a motivational speaker, traveling the world and helping as many people as I could. Those were (and still are) my biggest dreams.

In high school, I started to realize that many of my friends and peers, who also had awesome goals for their life, were being discouraged from actually reaching their goals. I hated seeing friends with so much potential give up on what was important to them, and I knew that it was time for me to make a positive difference. That’s why during my junior year of high school, I decided that I wanted to write an inspirational book for teens to help encourage them to follow their dreams. The way I looked at it, if I would be able to actually write and publish a book at age 16, then that would be a perfect example of how young people can do anything they set their mind to!

My book all started with a journal entry where I was writing a list of tips and advice that I thought other teens would find helpful and inspiring. This journal entry eventually evolved into a 12-chapter book, covering topics such as loving yourself, building self-esteem, setting goals, and never giving up. The book is also filled with true stories from other teens, positive quotes on every page, and even journal prompts! Writing the book was so much fun for me, because I was able to combine two of my favorite things—writing and helping others—to make a difference. After a couple years of writing combined with lots of hard work and determination, Live High on Life was published in November 2010.

My hope for Live High on Life is that it will continue inspiring other young people to follow their dreams. Living high on life is all about creating your own happiness and living the life you’ve imagined, without letting anyone or anything keep you from reaching your dreams. For me, one of those dreams was to write a book and now that I can check that off my list, I’m excited about moving toward my dream of teaching in a developing country.

Becca at her tie-dye cupcake sale!

Whether you’re like Tammy Tibbetts, with the dream of creating a non-profit to sponsor girls’ education, or like Maggie Doyne, with the dream of building a school in Nepal, or like Linsday Brown, who envisioned the power of a tie-dye cupcake, I want young people to realize that they can do ANYTHING they set their mind to, even when it seems impossible. When we combine our HUGE dreams with passion and perseverance, then the seemingly impossible suddenly becomes possible. I mean let’s be honest…who would’ve ever thought that a week’s worth of cupcake sales could raise over $19,000!

But we did it; we made it happen. She’s the First is moving forward and shaping the future for girls’ education in the developing world. By believing in ourselves, we’re helping girls around the world believe in themselves as well. I love my generation of change-makers and I hope that all young people will find what they’re passionate about and just go for it, fearlessly. Together we are changing the world, but most importantly, we’re teaching girls in the developing world how they can change the world, too!

To support She’s the First, be sure to order a personalized copy of Live High on Life at www.livehighonlife.com! Everyone will also receive a free copy of Success for Teens with their order.

Keep dreaming BIG!
xoxo,
Becca Wertheim
@BeccaWertheim
Facebook

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#CharityTuesday: Books, Books, Books!

For our #CharityTuesday post this week, we have a gallery of girls reading around the world. Check it out!

And if you missed last week’s post on performances, you can see it here!

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Next Google+ Book Club: Half the Sky

We'll be discussing Half the Sky on November 14!

Since the inaugural She’s the First book club was such a success, we are moving on to round two! Please join us to discuss Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn on Monday, November 14, at 7 pm EST. We’ll be meeting via Google+, so tweet @shesthefirst with your gmail address to add you to the meetup, or email erinleigh.patterson@gmail.com. New to Google+? Not to worry! Check out more details here, and if you’re still feeling a little lost, just send me an email and I’ll make sure you know what to do.

“Half the Sky” is a journey through the developing world with two Nobel Prize winners seeking to understand the power held by women. By meeting women who have been trafficked into sex slavery or live and suffer with preventable diseases, the authors depict the world with an edge of anger but ultimately a view of hope. With a little help women all across the developing world are making a difference in their communities for their daughters. This issue of women’s emancipation, we learn, is not just the right thing to do, this is our best weapon in the combat on poverty.

Check the book out at your local library (or if you want, you can buy it here), and we’ll see you November 14th!

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10 Characteristics of Successful Social Entrepreneurs

As we read The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World, by John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan, we found this description for successful social entrepreneurs and wondered, how many of you see yourselves in this? Leave a comment to let us know if it resonates with you as much as it did with us!

Does this describe you? Click to expand.

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AfricAid, our Tanzania Partner, Publishes a Children's Book!

cross-cultural children's book by our friends at AfricAid & the Kisa Project

It’s been a while since most of us have read a children’s book — but you never outgrow them, right? And we all know a young reader we could then gift the book to…so check out Somebody Like Me, the new book published by the 26-year-old Founder & Executive Director of AfricAid, Ashley Shuyler! She co-wrote it with Prisca Lesakire, a young Tanzanian woman who aspires to be a teacher, and teamed up with illustrator Lori Discoe.

She’s the First met Ashley this June, when she flew out to NYC (thanks to JetBlue’s generous donation) for our first-ever GIRLS WHO ROCK benefit concert. GIRLS WHO ROCK sponsored three girls — Elizabeth, Happiness, and Grace — in AfricAid’s tech-savvy Kisa Project sponsorship program in Tanzania. The girls receive leadership and computer training in addition to their academic studies, so we correspond regularly with them on email (and then post their messages to the blog so you can comment back!).

Somebody Like Me is based on the true story of Ashley and Priscila, two young women who grew up on different continents, in different cultures. When chance brought them together, they changed each other’s lives. (It was due to a trip to Tanzania at age 11 that Ashley founded AfricAid, a nonprofit organization with the mission of supporting girls’ education in Tanzania. Prisca was one of the organization’s first scholarship recipients, and the two girls became acquainted with each other through the letters they wrote back and forth for years. They soon realized through their long-distance interactions how much they shared on a human level, despite their cultural differences.)

The book is only $12.50, plus $2 for shipping, and a portion of the proceeds will be used to support AfricAid’s efforts to provide education to Tanzanian girls. Co-author Prisca Lesakire’s portion will help to support her efforts to become the first female teacher in her village. Add it to your holiday shopping list!

Visit the other partners in our global directory here. We are so proud to work with AfricAid to reach Tanzanian girls!

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She's the First Summer Reading Bookshelf

In my last post I told you about one of my new favorite books, How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World. The reading fun continues as I am proud to present to you…the She’s the First bookshelf!

She's the First Book ShelfYou can join our book club on Shelfari to keep up with what we’ve read, what we want to read, and what books you think we should check out! Here’s a sneak preview of a few of the books on our shelf…

Half the Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn: Half the Sky is the ultimate call to action for girls in the developing world. Kristof and WuDunn deliver compelling case studies about girls from all over the globe, with more facts than you’ll know what to do with. It’s a great introduction to why every girl needs an education, and I promise, once you’ve read it you’ll want to make sure every single student gets a chance to be the first.

Give a Little, by Wendy Smith: As we’ve mentioned many times on Facebook, we love Wendy Smith’s Give a Little. I am finally getting the chance to read it and it’s becoming a fast favorite. Wendy proves that giving just a little is not throwing a drop in the bucket – it’s the smallest donations that can make the biggest impact!

The Sandwich Swap, by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah, Kelly DiPucchio: Here’s a nice break from heavy research — a children’s book! Queen Rania is a huge inspiration to everyone at She’s the First, and she did not disappoint us with this adorable story. The Sandwich Swap teaches tolerance and acceptance through the story of two best friends from different worlds – the worlds of peanut butter & jelly versus hummus! As an added bonus, all proceeds from this book will go to Madrasati Jordan, Queen Rania’s education initiative to improve the learning environment in 500 public schools.

Zilch, by Nancy Lublin: CEO of DoSomething.org Nancy Lublin shares her secrets on how businesses can take a hint from non-profit organizations and do much more with a whole lot less. Lublin’s energy and enthusiasm bring this book to life, and the lessons she teaches can be applied to your life, not just your company.

Our shelf also includes some education-themed favorites: Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson and The Price of Stones by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri; and team-building book Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsiesh.

What books would you add to the She’s the First shelf? Head on over and put your favorites on the shelf or let us know in the comments. Happy reading!

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