Textbooks to benefit schools in Ethopia

With hundreds of boxes full of textbooks filling a garage and a storage container, it looks like Blanchard Alliance Church is preparing for a heavy-duty readathon.

But it isn't the Wheaton-based congregation that will be reading and using the books. They are sending them to Ethiopia where the Kale Heywet Church is planning to open 250 schools over the next 10 years.

Kale Heywet is a large denomination with about 5,900 churches throughout Ethiopia. But even with the resources of the church, starting 250 schools will be a monumental challenge.

Many students and teachers have few or no school supplies and the classes often have as many as 150 students.

"That's 150 children in a class, not a grade, a class," said Blanchard Alliance member Nancy Horn, who coordinated the textbook drive.

Horn was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia many years ago, and more recently has been a consultant for another organization doing work in the east African nation.

The Rev. Ron Mangin, Blanchard's associate pastor, said in January the church did a series of sermons and Sunday school classes looking at needs around the world and in DuPage County.

They then searched for a project that would help them back their study in words with actions.

The congregation learned of the Kale Heywet School project and decided to help even though the church is not affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination.

"The territorial boundaries have broken down, especially overseas," Mangin said.

It also helped to have Horn and several teachers -- and at least one high school superintendent -- in the congregation.

Once the word went out that the church was looking for textbooks, the offers started pouring in.

"We had a lot of people chipping in," Horn said. "The response has been wonderful. People are just so excited their donations are going to be used somewhere else."

The textbook drive focused on math, science and English as a second language for elementary students, and leadership and management, development, agriculture, information technology and psychology at the college level.

In addition, Kale Heywet is starting a master's degree program at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology so books were donated to support those studies as well.

Over the summer, about 550 boxes of books weighing a total of 35,000 pounds were collected. An overseas shipping container will be arriving Friday and members of the church will load them Saturday before the entire batch is sent out early the following week.

Church members also created about 250 packets of supplies for students and another 50 bags with teachers' supplies.

The need for access to education is particularly critical now that a new government has come into power after years of Communist rule, she said.

There are government schools in Ethiopia, but very few operate in the rural areas. The church, on the other hand, has congregations in the farthest reaches of the countryside and will hopefully be able to bring education opportunities to children who otherwise would never go to school, she said.

Blanchard's role in helping Kale Heywet isn't likely to stop with the book shipment. Horn said several teachers in the congregation are already planning to visit Ethiopia next summer to meet some of their African colleagues.

No doubt they'll want to find out just what it takes to manage a class with 150 students.

For details, call Blanchard Alliance Church at (630) 653-1555.