A. An Overview

When USACF decided to work with ORAP to improve the education of the children of Zimbabwe, we quickly realized our vision involved a great deal more than just sending books and supplies to Africa. It was important to all of us that our American and Zimbabwean students learn as much as they could about each other. We wanted to bring the two cultures together. We wanted them to gain a respect and appreciation for each other’s lives.

It was our hope that the pen pal program would be the means to this end. Our goal was that sister schools would write letters to each other at least twice a year. We wanted there to be ongoing one-to-one relationships between hundreds of pairs of students. Students of the same age and grade would be writing in detail about their lives, their hardships and their dreams. If students were too young to write, they would exchange pictures. We wanted all our students to understand that even though their lives were very different from their pen pal’s, they still had very much in common. We even hoped that some of these relationships would endure past graduation. Maybe some day in the distant future, they would even visit each other.
I report with some disappointment that after five years into the program, our hopes and dreams have not been realized. Nor is the program close to what we had envisioned. The pen pal initiative turned out to be far more difficult and complicated than we had imagined. Some of our obstacles we encountered were:

• Unexpected extended school closures in Zimbabwe.

• The difficulty in getting letters to very remote schools.

• Packets of letters never being given out or lost.

• Classroom teachers failing to have their students write letters.

• Long delays in getting the pen pal letters to USACF or ORAP.

• Differences in school calendar years.

• Waiting too long to send the letters out.

• The expense involved in shipping letters.

• Students putting only their first name in their letters and not identifying their teacher or school.

• The disappointment of waiting for answers that never came. 

We now know that to sustain a relationship between schools and individual students much more is required. Just having students write pen pal letters is not enough. We know the program is viable; we just have to build in other support mechanisms. This year we will renew our efforts to bring our students together, but we must also bolster the program by making it much more multi-dimensional. We are looking to add some or all of the following:

• Put in computer linkages wherever possible. If schools and students could email each other on a regular basis, then most of our problems would be resolved.

• Establish better contact between the schools by using Facebook. By purchasing and using digital cameras in and around our schools, we could strengthen the bonds between the pen pals. Facebook would allow us to visually link sister schools. Putting out shared images could only enhance our program.

• Have schools produce scrapbooks that could be exchanged with their sister schools.

• Exchange drawings and poetry.

• Have field representatives take pictures of students using items sent or wearing American school uniforms. We want American students to see that their efforts are making a difference. It is a powerful motivator when students actually see the items they sent in use in Africa.

• Headmasters should write to their American counterparts and tell them what the donations have meant to the teachers and to the children of their schools.

• American and African social studies teachers should teach some of the history and culture of the country they are paired with.

• USACF should set up student and teacher exchanges.

These are lofty goals. It will require a great deal of work and organization, but think of the results if we succeed.

B. On Writing Pen Pal Letters

If students are writing to a pen pal for the first time, they should begin the letter by writing either “Dear Friend” or “Dear Pen Pal”. Students should feel free to write about any aspect of their life or school. A sample of topics they might include in their letter.

• Their family.

• Their friends.

• Their home.

• Their neighborhood.

• Games they play.

•  How they spend their day.

• What they like to eat.

• Hobbies.

• Their school and teachers.

• Subjects they take.

• Sports.

• Vacations.

• Things they like or dislike.

• Music.

Students are encouraged to include photos of themselves and their family with the pen pal letters. Some students like to make personal scrapbooks of their lives. They often include lots of family photos and pictures they cut from magazines. I’ve seen students include pictures of spaghetti, their school, their best friends, skateboards and a store.

Teachers should collect the letters and put the class set into a single envelope. Printed on the outside of the envelope should be the following information: the name of the school, the teacher’s name, the class designation and the name of the sister school. Teachers should make sure that the each student puts their first and last name on the letter and the information stated above. Sometimes letters get separated from a class set and there is no way to determine where the letter belongs.

And finally students are encouraged to ask questions about their pen pal’s life. We want students to learn as much as they can about each other.