Thousands of pencils personally delivered summed up the bountiful energy and spirit of a group of Roots & Shoots youth who wanted to help rural Tanzanian students get the most out of a new conservation education program.

When youth leaders of JGI's global Roots & Shoots program discovered that students in Tanzania didn't have pencils to fill out booklets connected to the new program, they took quick action, holding pencil drives all over the U.S.

They collected a mountain of pencils—21,000 in all. The pencils made quite a sight when they were stored in the small R&S regional office in California.

Cultural adventure
The students brought the pencils to Africa as part of life-changing cultural exchange in Tanzania. The group of nine U.S. students met fellow Roots & Shoots members, participated in tree-planting and other service projects and, most importantly, brainstormed with their Tanzanian counterparts about how to strengthen and enhance communication among R&S groups internationally.

They made awe-inspiring visits to Serengeti National Park, where they camped under the stars, and took a guided tour of famous archaeological site Olduvai Gorge. Of course the students also visited Gombe National Park, site of Dr. Goodall's famous chimpanzee research, still ongoing today.

One important goal of the Tanzanian trip was to help the students become effective ambassadors for Roots & Shoots. "The students came back with lots of great stories and the ability to represent Roots & Shoots in a way they hadn't previously," said Roots & Shoots regional director Hans Cole.

Nature for Kids
The youth leaders also reinforced a new partnership between Roots & Shoots and Nature for Kids, an educational non-profit begun in Africa in 2002. The partnership involves a four-year mobile video and discussion project designed to teach rural children about wildlife and the natural world. Three times a year the project sends educators with a mobile video unit to 76 of the most disadvantaged schools and rural communities in the Arusha and Manyara regions.

The project will eventually reach nearly 18,000 students aged seven to 13, who now have the pencils they need for the program lessons.