The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Opinions

AMANDA BROUILLETTE

Though the semester has drawn to a close, the time to help others is far from gone. The time is now.

I met Fresew Assefa, a University senior born and raised in Ethiopia, at a meeting for the "Book Drives for Better Lives" program, led by the University chapter of Golden Key International Honors Society and the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. He passionately claimed, "These books bring hope. There is no other word I can say to you that describes what your books can do ... life is very hard, harder than you can imagine."

It was interesting to hear him talk about life and the conditions in Africa, and why he has been trying to collect books on his own to send back to Ethiopia.

When he found out about the Better World Books/Books for Africa drive on campus, he was overjoyed and said he would do anything in his power to help out. It doesn't seem like a big deal to us - after all, it's just a book.

There truly is a face behind every book, and this book drive actively is saving those lives. There are 12 million African children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and malaria. Close your eyes and try to picture 12 million children.

It's nearly inconceivable.

When I read that a girl is 50 times less likely to contract HIV/AIDS if she is literate, and education is important enough to be called a "social vaccine" by researchers, I knew I had to help.

More than 19 million people in Africa have died of because of HIV/AIDS. In sub-Saharan Africa, 5,000 Africans die daily from HIV/AIDS. There are 15,000 people a day who are infected with HIV - that's more than 10 people per minute. Try to comprehend that.

It is incredible to think our books can help in such a powerful way. Our books not only can change lives, they can save them.

Better World Books has given more than 864,600 books directly to Books for Africa, as well as the National Center for Family Literacy, which helps here in the United States.

They've also raised $900,000 of unrestricted funding for Books for Africa, www.booksforafrica.org, since May of 2002.

A warehouse full of books at the Books for Africa headquarters in Minnesota is useless without the incredible amount of funding necessary to ship the books all the way to Sudan, Darfur or Ethiopia.

This unrestricted funding ships the books across the Atlantic, and ensures their transportation inland to different countries and villages.

It's hard to comprehend being forced to share my only book with six other students, but Fresew said that is the case, even in Africa's private schools.

Better World Books has made such an impact that many alumni continue to participate. In the wake of Earth Day, it's also comforting to know Better World Books has saved more than 6,200 tons of books from landfills.

Now, there's nothing wrong with selling books back, especially if you can get a good price. Still, I entreat you, consider donating books the bookstore won't buy back.

If every student on campus donated just one book, think of the impact we could make.

As you finish your finals, get closure on

that ridiculously hard class - take a walk to one of the bright green boxes that says, "Book Drives for Better Lives," and let the bane of your semester save someone else's life. I promise you, it's worth it.

- Amanda Brouillette is a sophomore from Lilburn majoring in physics and English.

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