The City of Grande Prairie is partnering with the DavTee Society to provide educational materials to children in Ethiopia. From left, society co-founder Teresa Plante, Leo Frey of Cat Rentals, Mayor Dwight Logan, and David Plante, co-founder, are shown with a 40-foot canister donated by Cat Rentals. It is located at the Zeller’s Lot at Prairie Mall for collecting textbooks and school supplies to send to Ethiopia in the fall.

David and Teresa Plante were in Ethiopia last fall to view libraries and talk to local people about the educational system. People in Ethiopia realize that education can be a way for young people to get out of poverty. The educational system in Ethiopia is taught in English. The government will sponsor college or university if a student is able to maintain excellent marks in high school. However learning can be difficult because of the scarcity of educational materials. Most classrooms in Ethiopia have only a few books that are shared among all students. David and Teresa visited a ‘school library’ that was just basically a big empty room without books, tables or chairs.

SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR DONATION:

·         Textbooks from Grade 1 to University level

·         Writing paper, notebooks

·         New pencils, pens, erasers, crayons

·         Safety scissors, rulers

·         Children’s books

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE:

·         Social Studies textbooks

·         Fiction books

·         Religious texts

·         Anything that could leak during shipping

Check out www.davteesociety.com for more information.