Tenth-graders Melissa and Brittany didn’t know much about Uganda before they began writing their own children’s book , but now they feel connected to this place on the map like they never imagined . “ I did some research in class and outside of class , ” said Brittany . They had to learn more about what a Ugandan village looks like . They are creating a preschool age book from scratch entitled “ Shapes in the Village , ” where they educate the reader about shapes and then ask them to go around their village looking for them .

English teacher Todd Cunha is in charge of this project at the school and is working with several other disciplines in the building to bring forward many hundreds of one-of-a-kind books to send to Uganda through a program called , “ Books of Hope . ” This program , part of the Memory Project ( www . booksofhope . org ) , has a mission to “ create international educational opportunities for American students by helping them connect with children their own age in dozens of countries around the world . ”

Labeled a service learning project by the organization , this program provides Enfield High School students the opportunity to learn about another area of the world , as well as to use their own creativity and skills to create something from scratch . These books will help this east African country advance in its attempt to educate the children , increase literacy and foster empathy between nations .

Mr . Cunha’s class is working diligently to make this a success . Each student is paired with another student and has chosen a subject to write on . Each book will include original writing and pictures , capturing the culture and lifestyle of a Ugandan child .

Brianna has decided to create two books . She was working on her laptop to create an eye catching front cover on her book about numbers ( 1-10 ) , and she is also planning a storybook about a boy who wants to go outside to play but his mom says no because it is too hot out .

Ned was busy putting the final touches on a picture of a fish to be placed next to the letter ‘ F’ that his partner is finishing for their alphabet book .

The school they are sending these books to in Uganda is in Kampala in Kireka . Through an organization that helps refugees , this preschool has been set up , but it is in a slum . The parents cannot afford to pay for a formal nursery school , and many of the parents and kids are HIV positive or orphaned . Their situation to educate their children would be pretty desperate , were it not for programs similar to Books of Hope .

The school serves about 160 children between the ages of 3 and 15 , but Cunha’s books are being written for the 6-to 9-year olds . Through the program , they have requested science books , math books , alphabet books , numbers and biology . Cunha and his crew of students are focusing on the alphabet books and the storybooks , while other teachers in school and their students are tackling the other topics .

The students can send up to 100 pounds of books for their registration fee of $ 225 . They plan on holding a book fair at Barnes and Noble in Enfield March 27-29 . Ten percent of the purchases made that weekend will be given to the project . Students will be manning an information table Saturday and Sunday afternoon with literature about Books of Hope , as well as some of the books from students .

Cunha has a special affinity for this place in the world . As a son of Peace Corp . volunteers , he is interested in the plight of people in other parts of the world . He heard about this opportunity through an e-mail he received about two yearsago .

All in all , there are about 300-400 students , building–wide working on this project .

“ It was nice to bring everyone together to do a common project , ” said Cunha . Melissa is like all of the other students in her feelings about this project . “ I think it’s cool , it will help them a lot , ” she said .