BOOKS FOR KIDS
Feilding teen sends hundreds of books to the Cook Islands
Reading books at some schools in Rarotonga are so old the middle pages are missing, says a teenager who’s decided to do something about it.
Louise Gainford has gathered 1500 books and raised $3200 for stationary to boost underfunded schools in the Cook Islands.
The Feilding 17-year-old was horrified, during a trip to Rarotonga in August, when a teacher told her that some books were so decimated all that was left was the cover.
‘‘I was a bit like ‘you sure?’. I was a bit skeptical, but then I saw the photos. I was sort of shocked.’’
It prompted her to ask more than 40 New Zealand schools for books of any genre. She plans to send them to the Cook Islands Ministry of Education for distribution.
Gainford said New Zealanders took basic education for granted, while others in less privileged countries constantly battled limited resources.
They deserved to have access to a quality education like we did in New Zealand, she said. Instead they go without the basics, like pens and paper, which limits their ability to learn.
There are no libraries or stationary cupboards at schools in the Cook Islands. One bookshelf services an entire school.
‘‘It sort of sucks. We complain the whole year about having to go to school, yet we get books, stationary, computers. It’s a bit unfair.’’
The ministry has wavered any import taxes and Gainford is using her mother’s company Precision Manufacturing to ship the boxes over.
Seeing some of the island’s rundown houses was a sobering experience for Gainford, who said she had grown up in a sheltered bubble.
‘‘Every subject I did at school was on my laptop.’’
Mazda Foundation chairman David Hodge was inspired by Gainford’s crusade and sent $2500 to aid the campaign.
Gainford hopes to visit the pupils receiving the books early next year, before venturing to the United States to become an instructor at Camp America.