How important were books to your childhood?

There is much excitement as i-ACT 10 gets ready to depart. This trip feels very special to the team because we are beginning the fulfillment of a long standing need for books in the camps. We are launching The i-ACT Refuge(e)-Reading Project. This project allows us to bring books via Kindles to the children without the logistical difficulties we would ordinarily face. Each team member that has spent time in the camps has felt the longing for education. We have seen it in the faces of hungry children and heard it in the voices of protective parents. This project is very close to all of our hearts and more importantly a feasible way to make children’s dreams of a brighter future come true.

I remember when we went on i-ACT 2 and how effected I was by the children and their love of learning. With runny noses andpainful coughs, it wasn’t medicine but books they asked for again and again. It reminded me how books and learning had helped me through my own difficulties in childhood. Being denied access to that avenue of imagination and knowledge seemed unfeasible to me. These children continue to face things far more difficult than most of us will ever know yet education is still their number one priority.

The i-ACT Refuge(e)-Reading Project will be bringing Kindle 3‘s this trip which is a low cost, efficient way to bring multiple reading resources in English, French and Arabic to a remote area. It is a way for everyday people to effect direct change in the refugees lives both today and in the future. This is an investment in the next generation; the generation of children that will grow up and share the world with our children. Is there any greater investment?

Our goal is to deliver 10 kindles on i-ACT Expedition #10 but that is just the beginning. We plan to deploy more on our next trip after this initial launch when we have the system solidly in place. We will be working with the refugee’s directly to create a library system to house the eReaders where refugees can access the Kindles. We will also be asking the Librarians to keep track of the most popular books so we can return with more of the same. We invite schools, churches, organization and families to join this project by spreading the word or donating Kindles.

 You can follow the team’s journey as they post videos, blogs, and photos from the refugee camps. We will capture the delivery of the Kindle eReaders and share it at www.iactivism.org.

On Behalf of the i-Act Team,

Stacey