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news
Orphanage offers
used book options
By Ayako Ando
On-line Forty-Niner
As the semester
comes to a close, more students at Cal State Long Beach start
to sell their books to bookstores offering textbook buy-backs,
even though some bookstores won't accept certain books not
used for next semester.
However, students
don't have to throw them away because thousands of people
outside of the United States are waiting for those books.
Children's Orphanage
Inc. is a nonprofit organization in Long Beach that has been
helping to change the lives of poor or homeless children worldwide
since 1998.
"I founded Children's
Orphanage Inc. to help as many children as possible because
I was an orphan myself in Nigeria and know what these children
want and need," said Chika Duru, director of Children's Orphanage
Inc.
They collect many
different kinds of donations such as money, used clothing
and shoes, books and computers to send them to a number of
countries where the help is needed.
"We really appreciate
to get books and computers because many children need education,
especially in Nigeria where I am from," Duru said.
Duru said Vans
shoe stores have been helping the organization. They have
given Duru shoes that are scratched and other items such as
display T-shirts that they are unable to sell as new.
Duru said Community
Hospital of Long Beach also helps the organization to achieve
its goals. They give Duru beds and medical equipment no longer
used in the hospital.
"At hospitals,
they throw things away, but I collect those things because
I know that people need them to survive, and these things
actually help a lot of people in the poor nations," Duru said.
If students are
moving after the end of the semester and thinking about throwing
things away, they can stop at Children's Orphanage Inc. Even
the used and old materials are appreciated by many places.
"I have a lot of
textbooks that I couldn't sell at a bookstore and I don't
really read, so I should give them to the organization because
those books can support many people," said Maki Nagaoka, CSULB
senior student majoring in computer science.
Duru sends the
donations to churches and orphanages in the countries such
as Nigeria and Mexico.
"I will be happy
to receive anything from anybody who wants to help the children
in the poor nations," Duru said, "because I know that they
need it, and I want to give them hope."
Children's Orphanage
Inc. is located at 2340 E. Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach
and may be reached at (562) 961-5955.
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