How can I help?

I've had a lot of people asking me, "How can I help?" I've been responding with several key points. I've now written a letter that explains our trip this past December and gives 3 action points for people to follow. Here's the letter:

As you may know I recently returned from traveling to India and Nepal. The reason for journeying halfway around the world was to try to establish educational programs for our organization, Effect International. What awaited me were several hundred eager children wanting nothing more than to attend school. After a long flight I arrived in New Delhi and met up with my friend Bushra Zaman, a PhD student at USU who is native to India. We traveled to the poorest state in India, Bihar, which is the size of Illinois and the home to 84 million people, 53% of which are illiterate. We went to the village of Sasaram and met key village leaders and surveyed the area for needs. We found over 500 children who were powerless to become educated because their parents cannot afford the meager price of tuition. We met a girl named Meera, who spends her days holding her naked brother on the streets because their parents died of tuberculosis and they now live with their grandmother. Meera expressed her great desire to attend school but she is convinced that education is a privilege reserved only for the elite and not for her.

We left India and went to Nepal, one of the most beautiful countries back-dropped with the Himalayan range, terraced farms, and kind people. However, it is also plagued as one of the poorest countries in the world. We went to the Pokawaki Village where we were greeted by hundreds of villagers who draped us with flowers in appreciation for our visit. We hiked to their primary school and found a broken down building with a dirt floor and caved-in roof. The first grade room was in such deplorable condition that the children must meet outside for class. We asked Bakshish, a math and science teacher where their library was. He responded, “We have no library, no books.” We asked, “How do you teach these children with no books?” He humbly answered, “We do the best we can with what is provided.” The secondary school for the village is a 3-hour walk for the children to attend. Since these children are needed on their family farms, the 6-hour daily walk keeps most of them from school past 6th grade. What does the village need most? They ask for desks, a library, and a secondary school. We promised to return with desks and books on our next trip and to start construction on a new school once we had the funding.

Therein lays the crux of this letter. We need your help! Think about how much books meant to you as a kid, or how fortunate you were to attend a school with your own desk and study material. Then imagine it being taken away. It would have had a profound impact on your life path. We have vowed to provide in Pokawadi, Nepal and Sasaram, Nepal. Our school in India will open its doors to 120 children this April in a rented building. We will also provide books for their libraries. If you would like to help, there are three things you can do:

--Send any books you have that would be suitable for students from ages 5-18. 70% of the books will be in English, the rest we’ll buy in their native language. Collection points will be in Idaho and Utah of the U.S. listed at the bottom of this e-mail.

--Forward this letter to friends and family or even print it for colleagues at work or church. Let anyone you know who may have books for their own children but have outgrown them. Let’s put them into eager little hands which are in dire need of these books.

--We can’t build these schools out of donated books. The cost of material requires cash and these communities will provide free labor and land. To build these schools it will cost under $25,000 U.S. This is a meager price compared to developed countries around the world. A school bench costs $20, a school uniform $15, a child’s scholarship $250. We are asking for your donations to help. All contributions are 501(c)3 tax deductible.

Effect International commits to see these libraries full of books and schools functioning. Please remember the energy, creativity, and desire for youth to learn about the world, and do something to help these children. Think of the effortless opportunities most of us have had to get an education. Get your friends and family involved! We all want to make a difference in this world. Here is your opportunity to make a difference, you may think its only a small way but it will have a huge impact on these children’s lives who have been denied the opportunities of education. The worst option is to do nothing. Thanks in advance. Sincerely, Casey Allred

Idaho shipping address:
533 N 3800 E
Rigby Id, 83442

Utah shipping address:
627 1/2 E 400 N suite 4
Logan, Ut 84321

If you would like any more information or would like to help Effect International please contact us at effectinternational@gmail.com