Poverty Eradication Network Trust

After five months, the container from Books For Africa arrived at our warehouse in Dodoma. This container was donated to PEN Trust through BFA and the George Seymour Bissel Foundation.

The 40 foot container was so heavy that it got stuck in the mud outside our warehouse and had to be towed out. Although this was a glitch in the driver’s program, it is a good indication of the long awaited rains that have finally come to the region. In January, PEN Trust will start the process of delivering books from our last container that is ready to be distributed. This will coincide with food distribution as well. Check back to see our progress…

After realizing the truck would not be moving from its stuck position, the container was unloaded quite a distance away from the warehouse doors, making the process exhausting for the 15 young men that helped.

Opening of the container.

Before unloading started, Rashidi gave instructions on how to read the labels for subject and grade category to help the process run more smoothly.

The container was unloaded box by box - most boxes were carried on their heads as each one weighs about 50 pounds and they had to walk through a muddy path to reach the warehouse.

Some of the stack of books in the warehouse. Each subject is seperated into its’ own pile as well as by grade either primary, secondary or post secondary within that subject to assist in sorting later in the process.

More boxes sorted by subject and grade level.

The next day a heavy duty truck was brought in from CPPS - Water Project to help tow it out of the slick mud hole it was stuck in.

Taking no risks at turning around and getting stuck again, the truck had to back out of the warehouse driveway and gate.

The recent rains had washed out the road, so a make shift bridge was made with sand bags to ease the truck’s entrance into the warehouse gate.

The truck was too long to negotiate the turn so it had to make a bypass by our office to turn back to the road to Dodoma town.