Poetry Against Poverty 2: Esther the Tree Planter

This is the second in a short series of reports about how Wheelsong's charity initiative is achieving success.

Wheelsong Books has a longstanding partnership with Save the Children, a worldwide charity that provides aid to children in crisis across the globe. But it's not only food they provide during a famine, nor is it just medical supplies and healthcare they supply in war zones. Save the Children are also committed to providing children with education and learning opportunities so they can support themselves, their environment and their local communities. 

You may already have heard about the Ethiopian Camel Library our book sales from recent anthologies have helped to fund. That was a classic, innovative project to provide ways for children in hard to read areas with books and literacy skills where no one else could do it. Here is another recent innovation from Save the Children:

Climate change champion Esther (pictured) from Malawi, loves planting trees almost as much as she loves climbing them. Every tree she plants helps shield her village from storms and floods. Thanks to our eco-lessons, she's more passionate about nature than ever.

Save the Children

This kind of greening project is begin to blossom all over the world in developing areas. It's important to educate our next generation of the crucial need to care for our planet. Planting trees helps to restore the lungs of our planet. 

This is just one more great reason why you should support Wheelsong Books and our poets who have pledged the sales profits from their books to support Save the Children. Poetry against Poverty!

Steve Wheeler

Image courtesy of Save the Children

Poetry Against Poverty 1: Lucy the Beekeeper

This is the first in a short series of reports about how Wheelsong's charity initiative is achieving success.

Wheelsong Books has a longstanding partnership with Save the Children, a worldwide charity that provides aid to children in crisis across the globe. But it's not only food they provide during a famine, nor is it just medical supplies and healthcare they supply in war zones. Save the Children are also committed to providing children with education and learning opportunities so they can support themselves, their environment and their local communities. 

You may already have heard about the Ethiopian Camel Library our book sales from recent anthologies have helped to fund. That was a classic, innovative project to provide ways for children in hard to read areas with books and literacy skills where no one else could do it. Here is another recent innovation from Save the Children:

Thanks to our dedicated community of supporters, we’re working with partners in the Solomon Islands to train beekeepers. The benefits are huge: bees are pollinating the mangrove trees which protect against rising sea levels and severe storms. 

And the honey provides a sweet new income for parents, so they can buy food for their children and pay their school fees. Pretty cool, right? Beekeeping is a sustainable, long-term solution for communities facing the climate crisis. Developing life-changing projects – like this one – is only possible because of your generosity. 

Find out how this innovative work is helping Alison – an amazing beekeeper and mum – and her daughter Lucy (pictured above) whose home was destroyed by a devastating storm.

Save the Children

This is just one more wonderful reason why you should support Wheelsong Books and our poets who have pledged the sales profits from their books to support Save the Children. Poetry against Poverty!

Steve Wheeler

Image courtesy of Save the Children

Why Save The Children?

The publication of the Wheelsong Poetry Anthology series remains one of the absolute first priorities of all things Wheelsong, with ALL proceeds going to Save The Children. Why Save The Children? What does Save The Children do?

Save The Children is a charitable organization dedicated to programs involving health, education, protection, emergency response, advocacy, and localization initiatives for children worldwide. 

A staggering 118 million kids in 116 countries around the world felt the saving impact of these programs just last year (2022)…. 5 MILLION meals went to impoverished children in U.S. areas alone… 9 MILLION kids observed a quality education (4.5 million being girls)… 4.6 MILLION mothers and 16 MILLION children improved their nutrition.. 3.8 MILLION kids rescued from violence…107 MAJOR EMERGENCIES were averted in over 70 countries.

This is just ONE story of so many… in 2010 Save The Children began the “camel library” in Ethiopia. The program includes 21 camels, which are traditionally used by communities in the Somali region of Ethiopia to transport goods across the hot lowland areas. Camels can carry up to 200 storybooks at a time in wooden boxes strapped to their backs. The project currently reaches over 22,000 children in 33 villages.

Mahadiya, 13, is in grade seven in a remote part of the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia COVID-19 forced her school to close. She eagerly looked forward to the “camel library” to work its way through the arid desert lands to bring her the only education she could know. She says wants to be an engineer when she grows up!

Mahadiya confided, “Many children have become herders and some walk into the bush to look for firewood. When schools were closed (during Covid), I was very sad.  However, the camel library continued to come to our village and supplied us with storybooks. I feel very happy and I am now able to borrow and take home the storybook that I would like to read.”

Children raised concerns around increases in child labor, early marriage, and abuse due to the outbreak and closure of schools. Even today Ethiopian children and their families are facing floods, desert locusts, cholera, measles, food insecurity, and rising poverty levels. 

Save The Children assured her of protection from the dangers of child labor and exploitation… in addition to providing nutrition  and education. This is only ONE child… out of 118 million. Mahadiya no doubt still waits for that camel to bring her the books she so desperately longs for.

One child. One story. One world. One cause. Wheelsong continues to support Save The Children. Wheelsong Books founder and publisher Steve Wheeler has put in the hard work, donating £2225 ($2820) so far from the Wheelsong Poetry Anthologies. His work, the editors, and the works of the poets contributing make this possible. But we have to get the books out there. 

Please consider buying one today for a

Christmas gift, or otherwise. Your contribution not only provides quality poetry… it provides a child with needs she or he will never get otherwise in a world where so little… can often mean so much.

Matt Elmore

Image from: 

Save The Children

References:

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2020-press-releases/covid-19-camel-library-takes-remote-learning-to-new-levels

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do