Photo via mnnonline.org

American kids sell toys to help poor African schoolkids

It all started four years ago with a six-year-old whose heart was touched by the plight faced by children who were going hungry in Africa. She decided to sell her toys as a way to feed them, reports MNN.

Her action grew into an annual event called the Neighborhood Garage Sale. Kids and families donate and sell their used toys, books games, puzzles and stuffed animals and give the proceeds to Bright Hope International.

Bright Hope works with indigenous local Christian leaders and churches who are working to change lives in a holistic manner -- spiritual, practical, physical, educational and financial.

Many of their partners (schools, churches and individuals) operate in remote villages where there is nothing except Christian leaders who want to make a difference.

Last year, 40 families raised more than $4,600 in the annual Neighborhood Garage Sale to help 12 Somalian refugee children go to school.

$4,600 goes a long way to people who live on less than $1 a day.

This year, a group of kids near Chicago, Illinois, sold some of their toys last week to raise money for tuition, books and uniforms for poor children in Africa. Their financial assistance means these children can now go to school, where it was unlikely they would have before.

Bright Hope's Sponsorship Program for Refugee Children in Nairobi, Kenya is two years old. The team provides school fees, uniforms, textbooks, and other supplies to encourage children to attend and to thrive in school.

All of the proceeds are distributed through Bright Hope International, a ministry dedicated to being the hands and feet of Christ around the world.

[08/29/2008]

Print Version