Book launched to help kids in Asia
A Nelson man has brought together stories, written by people from both sides of the ditch, to raise money for illiterate children in southeast Asia.
Self-employed Nelson I.T. contractor, Jared Lowe, has compiled a book of short stories called ‘‘Phantasmagoric’’ by 17 writers, including ‘‘bloggers, speakers, freelance writers and teachers’’ from Australia and New Zealand.
‘‘If you can’t even read a book, then how can you learn and develop?’’ said Lowe, who says all the money raised will go to the US-based non-profit organisation, RoomtoRead, which supports literacy in developing countries.
He hoped the money would go into projects to build community libraries in countries including Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
An estimated 250 million children lack basic reading, writing and numeracy skills in developing countries, according to UNESCO research.
‘‘As little as $50 can put a child in school for a year,’’ Lowe said.
The former Waimea College student said he made contact with some of the writers through an online writing competition.
‘‘We got to see everyone’s submissions, and then I managed to reach out to them through that, as well as social media.’’
The book went on sale on November 1 on Amazon.