On December 2/11 Directors Terry and Frank were invited to speak at a one day conference held in Markham, Ontario in the Council Chamber of the Markham Civic Centre. The conference was called Turn Ed Up! and was organized by an organization of secondary school students called Turn The Page. This youth organization aims to facilitate collaboration amongst secondary school students across York Region towards addressing global poverty. Using ABCD as an illustration I spoke about making a positive impact by doing something which you are passionate about. Terry spoke about how social enterprises can sustain technological solutions to enhance education. One example Terry used was the solar water bottle with battery storage prototype.

The conference was attended by 200 secondary school students and was a big success. These students have immense passion and dedication to making a difference in the world. We thank them for the opportunity to join them in their good work.

Opening today is the annual exhibition of beautiful plaked posters of ABCD children at the Southlake Art Gallery in Southlake Regional Health Centre, Newmarket, Ontario. The five new children who were added to the ABCD program this year are in the display as well as many others. The exhibition always garners a lot of attention as it is on view to the general public who visit the hospital, to the staff and to the patients. Visitors are encouraged to take away a plak of a child as a recognition gift for a donation of $100 or to simply donate towards the children’s education. If you are in the area of Newmarket during the next few weeks, drop in to the show. You’ll be glad you did.

In the continuing work of ABCD to improve the opportunities for a better education for children in the Kilimanjaro Region, the first ABCD sponsored school library will be set up in one primary school this spring!

Over the past 5 years, thanks to our donors and supporters, more children in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania are attending school, and starting their school day with a good breakfast. The children are eager to be in school and are committed to working hard to accomplish their dreams. However, due to the lack of reading resources, achieving their dreams continues to be a struggle. The children do not have easy access to books.

The first step is for our team of volunteers travelling to Tanzania in January to bring with them some donated books. ABCD will also be purchasing additional books from a local publisher. Our plan is to engage the local community to develop the library with us and to assist in making it a valued and sustainable resource for all their children. Hopefully this first library will be a model for further libraries in more schools in the future.

If you wish to donate books or send funds to buy locally published books, please contact us at info@abcdreams.ca. We will be happy to discuss this with you.