Suriname America Alumni Association (SAAA) steering committee members and U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer Virginia Elliott donated books to VOJ Atjoni on Tuesday, July 15. School Director Dhr. Jozefzoon and Onderdirecteur Atipa received the delegation and accepted the donation on behalf of the school. The school is the first organization to receive books from the book drive organized by SAAA in April.
Dhr. Jozefzoon was grateful to the SAAA saying “I’m glad the interior is not forgotten.” The books will be available for students in the school library. The school has a small book collection and computers, but no electricity to use the computers.
SAAA organized the book drive in connection with U.S. National Library week, which ran from April 13 – 19. The organization collected more than 1,000 books. After collecting the books, the association sorted them for distribution to schools, children’s home and other social organizations in need of reading materials.
The book drive helped fulfill the SAAA vision: to contribute to the development of Suriname. With the book drive the SAAA brings reading to the Surinaamse public and encourages the sharing of knowledge.
Over the last 40 years, about 250 Surinamers traveled to the United States for professional and educational exchanges sponsored by the U.S. Government. These visitors and up-and-coming leaders return to Suriname with new knowledge in their field, new understanding of American politics, economics and culture, and a desire to give back to Suriname.
Books are still available to interested organizations. For more information, contact SurinameAAA@gmail.com.
