"Trashed"
Books May Help Fight Illiteracy, AIDS in Uganda
Abridged Version
From a news story by
CNN San Francisco Reporter Don Knapp
March 13, 2000
Ronald Musoke is a college
student from Uganda. He attends the College of Marin in California.
Recently he got very excited about things he found in wastebaskets.
What did he find? He found outdated textbooks that had been thrown away.
Some of the books had sold new for one hundred dollars. The old textbooks
had been either discontinued or replaced by newer editions.
Uganda is a very poor country in Africa. When Musoke went to school
in Uganda, there were never enough books. Sometimes five books were
shared with one hundred fifty students. Musoke lived through the Ugandan
civil war and the loss of twelve family members from AIDS.
Why is Musoke excited about the discarded textbooks? He wants to send
them to Uganda so women have the chance to get an education. The books
will be used to pay for the women’s education. Musoke’s hopes
that education will help lower the number of deaths from AIDS. Also,
the books will help lower illiteracy in Uganda.
Other students are helping Musoke gather textbooks. Students are giving
him books and over four thousand books have been collected. A business
sponsor is helping to pay the postage for the books. Musoke and his
classmates sort and pack the books.
Ugandans will be educated with the help of donated books. The College
of Marin students have become connected with an African nation far away.
These classmates from a wealthy county have gained greater understanding
of people who struggle to live in a very poor country.
Additional notes:
Two million
or ten percent of the population of Uganda is HIV infected or has
AIDS. This figure reflects a decline in the number of Ugandan people
becoming infected with the disease. How has Uganda managed to begin
controlling the spread of AIDS? Uganda has focused on educating the
nation’s youth through the use of the media including the press,
videos, and music. When educating young Ugandans, emphasis is placed
on debunking old myths concerning sexuality and AIDS. Uganda’s
AIDS education plan is a very aggressive one that has been praised
by leaders from other nations.
Besides Uganda, many African nations are fighting widespread outbreaks
of AIDS. In Zimbabwe, the average life expectancy is only 39 years,
which is down from a previous 65 years, and this is a direct result
of rampant AIDS. This AIDS epidemic is not limited to the adult population,
but the mortality rate for children and teens is much higher than
in the past. It has been projected that in ten years, sub-Sahara Africa
will have 71 million fewer people as a direct result of the AIDS epidemic.
Ronald Musoke and his classmates continue to gather and send books
to Uganda. The Ronald Musoke Ugandan Literacy Project is accepting
donations via phone at 415/454/2255 or by writing to the:
Nuer Foundation
P.O. Box 150154
San Rafael, CA 94915-0154
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