63 books turns into 10 tons bound for Ghana

by: Peter Fischetti

Most of the children in the West Africa republic of Ghana will never know Nathan Sapong of Menifee in Riverside County.

But Nathan knows them.

In 2007, when he was 8 years old, his parents, Christian and Belinda, took him and his younger brothers to Accra, Ghana's largest city with a population of about 4 million, to introduce them to the country where their parents met and were married.

Nathan passed through small villages where children had no shoes and life was not so good. Ghana had instituted a program of free education a few years earlier, but books were not included, so many of the children went to work at an early age rather than going to school.

"It was kind of sad to see them that way," Nathan said.

Back at home, Nathan noticed all the books on his shelf. He approached his mother with the idea of boxing them -- 63 books in all -- and shipping them to Ghana.

"I thought it was a good idea," she said, "and I called some friends and the Menifee Valley Council PTA," which would take Nathan's donation to a much more ambitious level.

The response was phenomenal. With collection boxes placed in the schools and through contributions from local libraries, Nathan's donation of 63 books ultimately grew to more than 40,000.

Working with Nathan's mother, who is programs director for the PTA, and Dr. Jonathan Greenberg, Perris Union High School District superintendent, Danielle Rini, the current council president looked for ways to raise the $4,500 needed to pack and ship the 10 tons of books to Ghana.

"We set up coin drives with our schools," she said. "The very same children who donated the books to help the children of Ghana then stepped up to the plate and donated their allowances for our coin drives."

The drives were successful, but $3,200 was still needed.

PJHM Architects, which does work with the school district, wrote the check. The books were ready to make their final journey to Ghana from Menifee, where they had spent a year in donated space at Statewide Storage.

Once the books arrive in Ghana, they will be cleared and distributed by Child's Rights International, a non-governmental organization in Accra.

"To say I'm proud of Nathan is an understatement," his mother said. "It was his idea, and he has been selfless. But I'm also proud of the children of Menifee for donating their own books. Some who will never meet the children there wrote notes in their books. A little girl who parted with a Disney book wrote in it, 'I hope you take care of the princesses because I love them very much.'"

From: The Press-Enterprise