Our Inspiration
In 2007, Loretta Jitner had one of those “Aha” moments that inspire great ideas.
On vacation in Burma, Loretta was taking a leisurely walk when she was surrounded by several young children, eager to practice their English and make a new friend from America. As the group continued along together, one seven-year-old girl shyly asked Loretta for a pencil. In searching her bag, Loretta found a few pens and held one out. The little girl returned the pen with a polite “thank you” and, a moment later, disappeared. Loretta asked a remaining boy, “Why didn’t she want the pen? Why did she have to have a pencil?” He replied, “Because you need a pencil to go to school.”
Upon returning home to the United States, Loretta learned that six dozen pencils can be purchased for $4.20 – just six cents per pencil. Soon after, she founded Pencils For Kids, Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing school supplies to children around the world. |
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A Pressing Need
Across the globe, millions of families are toiling just to provide shelter and food. Although most of these hard-pressed parents understand the value of education for their children, they simply don’t have the funds for the necessary school supplies.
In Bali, for example, where children begin school at age seven, parents are required to purchase school uniforms and all supplies. Nothing – not even crayons, pencils or paper – is provided by the educational system.
At $10 each – about 25% of a typical rural family’s monthly income – a school uniform is out of reach for many families. For those who can buy a single uniform, the mother must hand wash it every night. In other families, children do without school altogether.
You can help rewrite this story with your support for Pencils For Kids. Read about our successful inaugural field trip to Bali in July 2008.
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