__________________________________________________________________www.pearlsofafrica.org
October 23, 2002 For Immediate Release
MAKE
A DIFFERENCE for people with disabilities at Borders!
Pearls of Africa aims to stock children's resource library and
make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities.
DICKSON CITY – Pearls of Africa’s Executive Director Laurie Moy will be at Borders Books and Music at 100 Viewmont Mall on the morning of Saturday October 26 with the objective of helping Pearls of Africa (POA) realize its goal of 400 new donated books for a disabled children’s resource library in Kampala, Uganda. The library was officially launched in November 2001 by Pearls of Africa’s sister organization, People With Disabilities-Uganda (PWD) with a small initial collection of books and resources. In 4 months of this year, Pearls of Africa has collected 200 books, reaching the halfway point of their stated goal.
Pearls of Africa is actively promoting the book drive as part of Make A Difference Day in the United States to improve the lives of people with disabilities abroad. Borders is doing their part by giving Pearls of Africa a table to display the needed books and give information on the organization. The store will go one step further and give a 25% discount on any titles purchased for the resource library.
Pearls of Africa aims to assist all people with disabilities in Uganda through a variety of programs and services. In their opinion, the way to make a difference is to "Inform! Involve! Inspire!" and the best means of accomplishing this goal is by sharing with disabled people the importance of literacy and reading. For this reason, Pearls of Africa continues to promote the book drive as its present primary goal.
By combining their efforts with those of People With Disabilities-Uganda, Pearls of Africa hopes to firmly establish the library as a place where children with disabilities and their families can go to acquire information to share with others in similar situations, and to hopefully discover their dreams and desires, along with a means of achieving them.
"The library is a place where children and their families can find books which show that they are not alone in their plight and that their disability does not mean inability," said Moy. "Our goal is to give children with disabilities and their families the means to build confidence and self esteem, and with that, the skills to achieve self-sufficiency and gain acceptance and integration into their communities."
People with Disabilities Uganda (www.pwdu.org) is a charity registered in the Republic of Uganda. It's sister organization, Pearls of Africa, Inc. (www.pearlsofafrica.org) is an American 501(c)3 registered nonprofit. Both PWD and POA are members of NetAid, a group of non-profit organizations who benefit from the involvement of online volunteers from around the world. NetAid’s Online Volunteering program is powered by United Nations Volunteers.
This is the 11th annual Make a Difference Day, the largest single day of community and volunteer service in the nation. Last year, a record 2.2 million volunteers participated in helping an estimated 25 million people in need with financial and in-kind contributions. Its projects include all types of charitable work, from directly helping those in need to cleaning up the environment, and it combines the efforts of government, corporations, charitable organizations and everyday Americans to accomplish these substantial goals.
"Pearls of Africa strives to give opportunity and hope to those who otherwise might not have it and to Make a Difference in the lives of those that need it most."
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For more information, please contact:
Laurie Moy, Executive
Director
Pearls of Africa www.pearlsofafrica.org
1740 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania - 18509
(570) 815-1319
Lmoy@pearlsofafrica.org