I need a favor!
Hey guys!!
Saturday's coming up and I have a favor to ask of you all. I have a letter (below) I've typed up. As you can read, I'm building up the (non-existent) school library and I need your help. I'd really appreciate it if you could print this letter out and take it to your local library(ies) and give this to the manager. You don't have to be responsible for anything after that. He/she'll have the address of my school as well as my email address if they want to contact me. I think the letter is pretty self explanatory. If they say they can help out please send me an email letting me know, or tell them to email me as soon as possible so I can send a postcard to establish a friendly relationship. I'd like you to go to as many libraries as possible in your area. I'd really like to have libraries donating from all over. Plano, Denton, Austin, Richardson, Abilene, Carrolton, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Frisco (as well as others near you) are all friendly places and I'm sure they'd be willing to help out. There is a cheap way of sending books called the M-bag. If they have any questions regarding this or anything else tell them to email me. I hope you guys are all doing ok, and can help me out.
Thanks!
Shannon
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Shannon Benoy and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English at Kazybek, a secondary school in the village of At Bashy. At Bashy is located in the Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan, deep in the Tian Shan mountain range along the western Chinese border. Last fall I started establishing an English language library for the students of At Bashy, and I am currently looking for donations from libraries and businesses throughout Texas. With the help of you and your organization I hope to achieve my goal of opening an English Language
Library at Kazybek School.
Libraries in Kyrgyzstan are often cold, sparsely furnished rooms, with mostly barren shelves filled only with Soviet-era propaganda. There is only a smattering of English language periodicals. The closest
public library is located in the rarely-visited city of Naryn, 45 minutes north of At Bashy, and has 13 English-language items, 7 being Reader's Digest magazines. By cooperating with other local institutions to pool English languages resources, creating a small library at Kazybek is easily accomplished.
English teachers at neighboring schools all experience the same problem: books are more important as a status symbol to the school than as educational tools. Books are kept locked in glass cases where they can be shown to visiting dignitaries or the parents of prospective students. Books are expensive, prized possessions to
village residents, and the Naryn region is the poorest part of Kyrgyzstan—75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and earns only $300 a year. Our library is working to change these students' lives by exposing them to a future other than alcoholism for the boys or being "bride-kidnapped," which is a harsh reality to many of my female students. Kazybek's library will give the students a chance to improve their English and help inspire them to study hard in their classes.
I am looking for new donors to broaden the scope of my project. I have already received books and magazines that are transforming the lives of the students and citizens of At Bashy. Imagine the impact of the words and images on a student who had never before seen a National Geographic, thumbed through a World Book Encyclopedia, or had access to take home Frankenstein or Huckleberry Finn. Because of the contributions I have received so far, events like these are happening every day.
Please consider donating to this project. We can use every type of books, but low-level readers are the most important as the students of my school are still building their reading abilities. I would love to supply these children with simple beginning English books with large pictures and easy English words to build their vocabulary. We would also appreciate more challenging books for those with more mature language skills.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Shannon Benoy
Kyrgyzshan@gmail.com
Kazybek School
At Bashy Village
At Bashy Region
Naryn Oblast
Kyrgyzstan
722620
Saturday's coming up and I have a favor to ask of you all. I have a letter (below) I've typed up. As you can read, I'm building up the (non-existent) school library and I need your help. I'd really appreciate it if you could print this letter out and take it to your local library(ies) and give this to the manager. You don't have to be responsible for anything after that. He/she'll have the address of my school as well as my email address if they want to contact me. I think the letter is pretty self explanatory. If they say they can help out please send me an email letting me know, or tell them to email me as soon as possible so I can send a postcard to establish a friendly relationship. I'd like you to go to as many libraries as possible in your area. I'd really like to have libraries donating from all over. Plano, Denton, Austin, Richardson, Abilene, Carrolton, Dallas, McKinney, Allen, Frisco (as well as others near you) are all friendly places and I'm sure they'd be willing to help out. There is a cheap way of sending books called the M-bag. If they have any questions regarding this or anything else tell them to email me. I hope you guys are all doing ok, and can help me out.
Thanks!
Shannon
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Shannon Benoy and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English at Kazybek, a secondary school in the village of At Bashy. At Bashy is located in the Naryn Region of Kyrgyzstan, deep in the Tian Shan mountain range along the western Chinese border. Last fall I started establishing an English language library for the students of At Bashy, and I am currently looking for donations from libraries and businesses throughout Texas. With the help of you and your organization I hope to achieve my goal of opening an English Language
Library at Kazybek School.
Libraries in Kyrgyzstan are often cold, sparsely furnished rooms, with mostly barren shelves filled only with Soviet-era propaganda. There is only a smattering of English language periodicals. The closest
public library is located in the rarely-visited city of Naryn, 45 minutes north of At Bashy, and has 13 English-language items, 7 being Reader's Digest magazines. By cooperating with other local institutions to pool English languages resources, creating a small library at Kazybek is easily accomplished.
English teachers at neighboring schools all experience the same problem: books are more important as a status symbol to the school than as educational tools. Books are kept locked in glass cases where they can be shown to visiting dignitaries or the parents of prospective students. Books are expensive, prized possessions to
village residents, and the Naryn region is the poorest part of Kyrgyzstan—75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and earns only $300 a year. Our library is working to change these students' lives by exposing them to a future other than alcoholism for the boys or being "bride-kidnapped," which is a harsh reality to many of my female students. Kazybek's library will give the students a chance to improve their English and help inspire them to study hard in their classes.
I am looking for new donors to broaden the scope of my project. I have already received books and magazines that are transforming the lives of the students and citizens of At Bashy. Imagine the impact of the words and images on a student who had never before seen a National Geographic, thumbed through a World Book Encyclopedia, or had access to take home Frankenstein or Huckleberry Finn. Because of the contributions I have received so far, events like these are happening every day.
Please consider donating to this project. We can use every type of books, but low-level readers are the most important as the students of my school are still building their reading abilities. I would love to supply these children with simple beginning English books with large pictures and easy English words to build their vocabulary. We would also appreciate more challenging books for those with more mature language skills.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Shannon Benoy
Kyrgyzshan@gmail.com
Kazybek School
At Bashy Village
At Bashy Region
Naryn Oblast
Kyrgyzstan
722620