Back to School… With a Pencil
by Kris Riendeau
Back-to-school time in the Valley: even if you’re not flying around buying paper, binders, coloured pencils and calculators for yourself or your kids, you can’t miss the message. Back to school is equated with back to shopping, whether it’s for clothing, lunch kits and backpacks, or the seemingly endless array of school supplies. The marketing starts in early August, and reaches full consumer frenzy just before the Labour Day weekend.
Back-to-school time in Nicaragua: in one of the poorest nations in the Americas, where 45% of the population makes less than $1 a day and the unemployment / underemployment rate sits at over 50%, many families approach the onset of school with trepidation. Some choose not to send their children at all, out of a sense of shame that they cannot provide even the barest of basics: pencils and paper. Some children make it to the classroom, but act out and distract classmates and teachers because they essentially have nothing to do — or at least nothing to write with or upon.
Tom Affleck has learned first-hand the difference a pencil can make in another part of the world, and is now appealing to friends and neighbours throughout the Ottawa Valley to help provide basic school supplies to those in need. In collaboration with a partner in Nicaragua and community members from home, Tom has helped create a new not-for-profit organization, appropriately called SchoolBox.
International Development
After studying International Development at Guelph University, Tom went to Guatemala and spent three months volunteering and learning Spanish. From there he travelled to Peru and worked for a year with the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), assisting small farmers by linking them to markets, sources of credit, and technical assistance. He then spent a second year working in Nicaragua on similar projects. When his contract with MEDA ended in December of 2005, he decided to stay on and work in Nicaragua for two reasons: to teach, and to implement a number of projects that he and his colleagues in that country felt were important. Over the next few months they worked with an orphanage and a women’s prison, provided training for small farmers, built a roof for a single mother and distributed clothing packages. But it was when they began working with a school to supply basic materials to students that, as Tom says, “the light bulb went on.”
Tom feels that the dramatic need for school supplies underlies many of the problems he perceives within the Nicaraguan public school system. Teachers in that country make on average only $50–$70 per month, so are unable to pay for supplies out of their own pockets. When families must concentrate on food, clothing and shelter, notebooks fall to the bottom of the priority list. For that reason, SchoolBox began by concentrating on the basics. So far they have provided over 500 students with educational packages that include two notebooks, two pencils, an eraser, a sharpener and a ruler. They have also provided teachers with necessities such as chalk, scissors, glue and calculators, and have even supplied chairs and desks. In the future, they hope to build washrooms for several schools that lack this essential facility. SchoolBox has worked with schools in the capital Managua, and also in rural schools on the Caribbean coast and in the North.
Personal Development
Tom Affleck has clearly been strongly affected by his work in developing countries. Even with assistance from partners in Canada and Nicaragua, the path he has chosen is definitely not a smooth one. When asked about the work involved in creating a new not-for-profit, he admits: “…becoming a charity is a serious and laborious undertaking.” As for why they have poured so much work into an initiative that specifically targets school supplies, he explains, “I know that it’s not as “sexy” as some of the other development initiatives, but at the end of the day it’s cost effective and it works, in that it keeps kids in school and keeps classrooms functional.”
With those aims in mind, SchoolBox’s goal for the next twelve months is to provide at least 1500 educational packages to students, to provide desks for at least ten schools, and to install washrooms in several more. And although Tom’s network of friends, family, and Anglican Church members has provided extensive support for SchoolBox, he recognizes that it is time to appeal to the wider community.
Good Fun for a Good Cause
Fortunately for us, SchoolBox has planned a particularly appealing appeal. On Friday, September 22 come on out to the Almonte Agricultural Hall at 8PM for a lively evening of entertainment, fundraising and education. Bring your dancing shoes, because the Ottawa-based band Klavé will be headlining with their upbeat salsa and Latin grooves. This eight-piece ensemble features a fusion of piano, congas, timbal, trumpets, percussion and vocals, and is sure to lure you onto the dance floor. If you need a little assistance with the moves, instructors will be on hand to show a few of the basics. The evening will also feature a silent auction, cash bar and munchies, and Tom will teach you more about SchoolBox with a PowerPoint presentation on their work.
Organizers of the SchoolBox Fundraiser are also hoping to take the opportunity to highlight a few other development initiatives that have roots in this area, such as Jeff Mills’ Haiti Photography Project