The donation of used textbooks to third world countries

Many do not care about what happens to old textbooks once they have become outdated. However, what can seem like an old textbook to one person can be an opening to a new world of knowledge to another, especially someone who lives in a Third World country. The George Lucas Educational Foundation described schoolchildren in developing countries as empty-handed, and many of these students arrive to classes with vacant shelves.

Schools should donate their old textbooks to countries that cannot afford to purchase textbooks for their classrooms. School librarian Silvia Gutierrez said this school’s textbooks are “boxed up and sent to the district” before being replaced. The books the district receives are sometimes given to the Books over Seas club.

“We contact the district to get used textbooks for our club around the beginning of second semester,” president of Books Over Seas Rachel Sweetnam said. “Then as a club, we box them all to be shipped.”

According to Sweetnam, the Books Over Seas club has donated an estimated one thousand books. The books are sent to Sri Lanka by the family of the former club president, Samantha Wathugala, who handles the shipping process. So far, the club has only shipped to Sri Lanka, but Sweetnam said they “hope to expand it someday.”

The University of Michigan says that children in poverty have substandard reading skills and less than 75 percent reach the fifth grade. Investigation from the Health and Education Advice and Resource Team show that textbooks prove to be a way to improve test scores in countries like Ghana and Nicaragua.

Many of Peninsula’s textbooks can easily be trashed and provide no further purpose. Recycling textbooks has its advantages, but it can be a difficult task to carry out. Rethink Recycling said that glue used to bind the books together makes it increasingly difficult. The Books Over Seas club it a great solution for the disposal of old textbooks and children in Third World countries get a chance to receive an education at a lesser cost.

“It’s good knowing you can provide them with an affordable education,” Sweetnam said.