Education
Bancroft students show their generosity 3,000 times over
This summer, the newly opened Beverly School of Kenya will have a little bit of Andover sitting on its library shelves.
Students at Andover's Bancroft Elementary School collected more than 3,000 new and "gently used" books during January for the school in North Kinangop, Kenya. The Beverly School, slated to open this summer, is a boarding school 90 minutes northwest of Nairobi that offers free tuition to underprivileged Kenyan children, many of them orphaned by AIDS.
The book collection was organized by the Andover Rotary Club, a team of teachers and Bancroft Elementary Principal Scott Morrison. The Rotary will pay to send the books to Africa, with help from several community donations, said Bill Buck, Andover real estate agent and Rotary Club member.
Each book that was collected has a label that reads, "A gift from your friends at Bancroft Elementary and the Rotary Club, Andover, Massachusetts, USA."
Organizers asked Bancroft students to bring in books for readers in kindergarten through sixth grade to help establish a library at the Beverly School, said Buck. They were soon overwhelmed by how many students responded, bringing in children's books of all kinds, he said.
"It's tremendous to see the outpouring. It's been wonderful to see it happen," said Buck.
They've collected so many books that the Beverly School will be able to share with other nearby schools in Kenya, he said.
The book collection is not Andover's only connection to the Beverly School of Kenya. Buck, Lazarus House Director Bridget Shaheen and Andover residents Jim Gillis and Tom and Nancy Maher are on the school's board of directors, supporting the school to help it get off the ground.
The Beverly School's founder, Abdi Lidonde, works at Holy Cross, Tom Maher's alma mater. Maher first heard about the Beverly School by reading an article on Lidonde in the Holy Cross magazine.
Since Maher first met Lidonde in January 2007, he has worked to raise money and create a strategic plan for the school, getting other Andover professionals involved.
Lidonde, a native of Kenya, started making the plans in 2004 for the Beverly School, named after his late mother, Beverly Lidonde.
Buck said plans are also being made to connect Beverly School and Bancroft students as pen pals, once the school opens this summer.
For information on the Beverly School of Kenya, visit www.beverlyschoolofkenya.com.
- Education
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Seifert column: Character and competence
About 30 years ago, I had a most interesting conversation with a gentleman from France. He was an executive for one of the computer companies in our area. We were very open with each other and could speak our minds. At one point, in our lively discussion of many topics, he shared a comment that has been etched in my mind since that day.
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On campus
On Campus acknowledges successes by Andover residents at colleges and universities. The information is submitted by schools, families and the students themselves.
Continued ... -
On campus
On Campus acknowledges successes by Andover residents at colleges and universities. The information is submitted by schools, families and the students themselves.
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