Chicago-based African Teens form ‘Alliance’ to help counterparts in Botswana share their love of books
When four friends saw a video last year about the lack of educational resources and other basic necessities in some African countries, they didn’t think too much of it.
But then Joe Dajani, Omar Abdel-Reheem, Tomas Harbut and Sean Ibrahimian later got to thinking about how much they had as compared with children in other parts of the world.
After some brainstorming, they got to work asking for book and financial donations through social media, public libraries and going door to door.
They teamed up with the African Library Project, which will help build a primary school library in Botswana that the teens are helping fund and stock with the more than 1,000 books they have gathered so far.
They’ve dubbed their project the Alliance for African Education and plan to send school supplies as well in another shipment.
Books have always been important to the four friends, who were students at Sandburg High School in Orland Park when they watched the video.
“It’s our belief that education is really important and books are a really big part of that. We can’t physically go there, so we thought this would be the best alternative.”
Tomas Harbut
Each said they grew up with parents who grew up facing hardships in their home countries and encouraged their children to help out.
Ibrahimian, who now attends Hinsdale Central High School, said volunteering at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and at a pharmacy motivated him to find other ways to help out.
Abdel-Reheem said his parents faced challenges growing up in Egypt.
“They came from a relatively humble background,” he said. “They told me about all these opportunities we have here that in Egypt they didn’t have.
Duha Dajani, Joe Dajani’s mother, said her son and his friends carried out their project all on their own, without prodding or help from their parents.
Dajani noted she and her husband are from the Middle East, where people couldn’t always afford education, the internet and there sometimes weren’t even libraries.
“We know what the differences are, so we always tell them you have to appreciate what you have and (take) any chance you can to help other people,” Dajani said.
The teens’ other volunteer stints have included cleaning equipment or greeting visitors at the information desk at Palos Health in Palos Heights.
