SA
From pencils to possibility with UJW
It began with a question. A small boy begging in the streets of India. “What do you want most in the world?” “A pencil,” he replied. “I reached into my backpack, handed him my pencil, and watched as a wave of possibility washed over him.” This is the premise from which Adam Braun, the founder of global non-profit organisation Pencils of Promise, works.
OWN CORRESPONDENT
And it inspired the Union of Jewish Women (UJW) to collect more than 400 stationery packs for underprivileged schools from the local community on Mitzvah Day on 17 November 2019.
UJW is distributing the packs to beneficiaries throughout the first term of this year. They have so far been given to students at the UJW’s Alexandra Aftercare and Feeding Scheme, Johannesburg Girls Preparatory School, and King David Junior School Linksfield’s partner school, Bright Star Academy.
All the children were able to choose whatever colour ruler they wanted. One child from Bright Star Academy kissed his stationery pack, looked up, and smiled at the sky.
The gift of education is by far one of the most powerful gifts parents can give their children. However, education needs resources, and the UJW is honoured to be able to provide these children with the resources they need to use their imagination, write new stories, do sums, and build a better and brighter future for South Africa, thereby realising the same remarkable power described by Adam Braun.