Africa

Students Reading to Help Others Have Food to Eat

The students have the goal to read enough books to buy a heifer to send to Africa

Some second graders in the Garland Independent School District have read thousands of books in the past few months with a very specific goal in mind: helping others.

Each student is a on mission to read as many books as they can. And it's not just read it and move on. The students have to understand it.

"For every book they’ve read, they’ve had an interview. The interview gauges comprehension" explained Olivia Tarkington, a counselor at Centerville Elementary School.

Tarkington says the rush on reading comes as part of the Read to Feed program. In the program, a charity will donate money to poor families in third world countries for every book these kids read. Since this class is bilingual, that means a lot to these kids.

"A lot of them know of family members in other countries; they’re first generation, they’re second generation here," Tarkington said.

The kids are said to have never been seen without a book. And they’ll tell you why.

"I like helping Africa," said Priscilla.

The students have the goal to read enough books to buy a heifer to send to Africa and provide a village with a significant amount of food to eat.

As much as they’ve read, they’re still very far off from reaching the goal to pay for the cow. If you’d like to donate to help, contact Centerville Elementary HERE.

ONLINE: Email Centerville Elementary

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