By Amy Baty-Herbert | Project Leader
We’re excited to share an update from our Year of the Pencil campaign—and it’s all thanks to donors like YOU!
Back in March, we successfully shipped 4,114 pencils, 414 sharpeners, and 414 pencil pouches to Freetown, Sierra Leone. Today, we’re proud to announce that every single one of those supplies has now been transformed into 414 individual pencil pouches—each carefully filled with 10 pencils and 1 sharpener, ready to be placed in the hands of eager students.
On June 24th and again on July 16th, our amazing Develop Africa Sierra Leone (DASL) team—including three of our own student beneficiaries, Fatu, Balusa, and Marian—came together to prepare these pouches with care and pride. During the second session, 110 packages were assembled, totaling 1,100 pencils!
Each pouch is more than just supplies—it’s a toolkit for learning, creativity, and hope. We ensure that every package meets our high standards so students can head into the classroom equipped and confident.
Even as we celebrate, we’re looking ahead. A shipment of 30,000 pencils is already en route to Freetown, and we’re working hard to get all 100,000 pencils shipped out by August 1st to assemble a total of 10,000 complete pouches for distribution in October—just in time for the new school term.
Each pencil you’ve helped send is making a real, tangible impact for thousands of students across Sierra Leone. Together, we can ensure every child has the tools they need to learn, grow, and dream big.
Learn more at https://www.developafrica.org/yearofthepencil
Have questions? Email us anytime at GlobalGiving@developafrica.org
With heartfelt thanks,
Amy & The Develop Africa Team
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