"Trashed" Books May Help Fight Illiteracy, AIDS in Uganda

From a news story by
CNN San Francisco Reporter Don Knapp

March 13, 2000

For Ugandan student Ronald Musoke, it was like finding gold in the wastebaskets of the community college in Marin County, California.

He pulled out used textbooks costing up to $100 when new, that now were being thrown away after newer editions wiped out the books' resale value at the college bookstore.

"So I felt why couldn't I send these books back to Uganda, as I see many books being dropped in the streets?" said Musoke, a student at the College of Marin.

Musoke knew how precious the old books would be in his homeland because the school he attended never had enough books. "You can imagine, 150 students using five books," remembers Musoke.

The 23-year-old student is a civil war survivor who lost his parents and ten other family members to AIDS. He now hopes to use the castaway U.S. books to battle that killer disease by raising the education level in Uganda. His main focus will be women, and he'll use the books to pay for their tuition.

"They come and get an education. It will be like an exchange," he said.

Because of the publicity about his scavenging, outdated books no longer end up in wastebaskets but instead land in collection bins. A corporate sponsor is paying part of the cost of shipping the 4,000 textbooks collected, thus far, to Uganda, but Musoke's classmates help with the sorting and packing of the books.

"I'm really happy to be here and to be doing it," said Roni Lapins. "I love to sort and organize, so this is perfect for me."

"It makes me feel good to know I'm helping -- in the littlest way possible -- to make other people's lives a little bit better," said another student, Tanya Schwedler.

The textbook effort is having another effect: Here, in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, California students are making a connection with a struggling African nation.

"It wasn't so detached, after meeting him. It was something very immediate for me," said David Halusic.

Musoke is teaching fellow students in Marin County new lessons in international relations -- lessons based on books the students used to throw away.

Additional notes:

• Uganda's successful anti-AIDS program targets youth
• Africa welcomes news of cheaper drug to prevent newborn HIV transmission
• Life expectancy in Africa cut short by AIDS

Two million or ten percent of the population of Uganda is HIV infected or has AIDS. This figure reflects a decline in the number of Ugandan people becoming infected with the disease. How has Uganda managed to begin controlling the spread of AIDS? Uganda has focused on educating the nation’s youth through the use of the media including the press, videos, and music. When educating young Ugandans, emphasis is placed on debunking old myths concerning sexuality and AIDS. Uganda’s AIDS education plan is a very aggressive one that has been praised by leaders from other nations.

Besides Uganda, many African nations are fighting widespread outbreaks of AIDS. In Zimbabwe, the average life expectancy is only 39 years, which is down from a previous 65 years, and this is a direct result of rampant AIDS. This AIDS epidemic is not limited to the adult population, but the mortality rate for children and teens is much higher than in the past. It has been projected that in ten years, sub-Sahara Africa will have 71 million fewer people as a direct result of the AIDS epidemic.

Ronald Musoke and his classmates continue to gather and send books to Uganda. The Ronald Musoke Ugandan Literacy Project is accepting donations via phone at 415/454/2255 or by writing to the:

Nuer Foundation
P.O. Box 150154
San Rafael, CA 94915-0154

 

---

© 1999-2000 Cable News Network, Inc.
Western/Pacific Literacy Network
Western/Pacific LINCS
All Rights Reserved