Faced with limited resources and tremendous poverty, the spirited Odette, age 7, decides to take matters into her own hands by creating a cooperative to sell chicken eggs with the help of her brother, Innocent, age 9, and a small group of friends. By pooling their resources, the children are able to buy what they need, pay school tuition for five friends and serve as an informal micro-loan service to the adults in their community.

Written in Kinyarwanda with English translation on each page, Learning To Help Ourselves and Others functions not only as a girls' empowerment piece but also as an effective tool for building literacy in two languages. Author Odette Umurerwa's message of self-confidence, determination and hope will encourage children and adults of all ages to utilize whatever resources they have to make the world a better place.

Printed in the United States. Full-color illustration. 40 pages, saddle-stitched. Professionally off-set print on silk text with aqueous coating.

Your purchase of this book covers the cost to send a second copy free of charge to one girl living in the villages of Umutara in northeast Rwanda--a place where books are scarce and little girls often learn how to read by sitting in a makeshift schoolroom under the trees.

You can read more about this project here.

$15