Ireland’s used school books ... A ray of hope for Malawi

By Simran Kapur (Twitter: @semister)

Every year thousands of schoolbooks in Ireland end up in landfill.

With changing syllabus and multiple new editions these books hold no value. Thousands of euros are spent by parents in purchasing these books, yet the end up in wasteland.

That is, until one organisation said no more!

Limerick’s Gateway to Education is all set to pack these books off to the less fortunate in Malawi. The question arises, Is Ireland now doing enough that it can send a ray of hope for those beyond its borders.

Limerick’s Gateway to Education is an organisation that runs by a majority of volunteers and it was a volunteer that came up with the brilliant idea for the Malawi project.

Books that would otherwise be thrown away and put to no use are now helping students in another country. What’s even more commendable is that they don’t have any government funding and are relying only on donations by schools in books and clothes.

Their funding is primarily dependent on the charity shop and their hopes haven’t faltered.

Simran Kapur found out more: