Pencils for Africa (P4A) is a non-profit project founded in the spring of 2018 by Habiba Odogba when she was 16 years old. In developed countries, access to school supplies as simple as a pencil is a certainty often taken for granted. Yet for the millions of students residing in developing countries, this luxury is far harder to obtain. P4A recognizes that under-supplied students are unable to receive the fullest experience of their learning, especially when they lack something as basic as a pencil. We collect new, used, and extra pencils to be donated to schools in Africa. In addition to collecting pencils, we now also collect books and laptops which we also donate to schools in Africa.
I heard from my father about the lack of pencils for undersupplied students in many African schools. I shared my idea to organize and run a pencil campaign drive with my counselor at school, who encouraged me to discuss with the Principal. The school district was also on board with my plan. After meetings, discussions and planning sessions, our first campaign drive was launched supported by staff and students throughout the school district that lasted for 8 weeks.
Our purpose is to help end the pencil deficit phenomenon in schools in Africa. With your support, we believe this is attainable.