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Why Torment of Thirst?
I had actually tried two other names at first but they just didn’t seem
right. Then I was struggling with coming up with a name, I remembered
the Seton quote. The imagery of those words and the words themselves
had stuck with me for many years.
Did you grow up feeling the torment of thirst?
No.
Why did you choose to start off giving away books?
I don’t have a firm answer. It came to me. I had been reading a
discarded copy of Book magazine which featured an article about literacy
and reading. It was shocking to read how little children read but I was
inspired by the transforming power of having a neighborhood reading
room at a Lakota Sioux reservation. Around the same time, I had read an
article about the Robin Hood Foundation which donated a school library
to a New Jersey inner city school The weekend that we delivered the
books to the first donee organization there was an article in the local
paper about how old some books in school libraries for that state were --
as in more than 20 years in some school districts. After seeing that
article, I knew I had made the right decision.
What are your plans?
I plan to continue for the duration with the books. In 2007, I expanded to
include books to a Haitian orphanage, Eden Garden, and also a
Guatemalan program for children, Safe Passage. It’s been hard to get
books in Spanish and French. I expected French books to be hard to
find. I hope to make a book buying expedition to Quebec.
I am hopeful about working with Indian and African organizations in the
future. Shipping costs and coordination present problems. In 2004,
books went to organizations here which in turn combined donations and
shipped them to Africa (Ghana and Ethiopia).
Why books to prisons?
Research has indicated an association between poor literacy skills and
criminal activity.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/12/27/MNGF6N6FSS1.DTL
I had actually tried two other names at first but they just didn’t seem
right. Then I was struggling with coming up with a name, I remembered
the Seton quote. The imagery of those words and the words themselves
had stuck with me for many years.
Did you grow up feeling the torment of thirst?
No.
Why did you choose to start off giving away books?
I don’t have a firm answer. It came to me. I had been reading a
discarded copy of Book magazine which featured an article about literacy
and reading. It was shocking to read how little children read but I was
inspired by the transforming power of having a neighborhood reading
room at a Lakota Sioux reservation. Around the same time, I had read an
article about the Robin Hood Foundation which donated a school library
to a New Jersey inner city school The weekend that we delivered the
books to the first donee organization there was an article in the local
paper about how old some books in school libraries for that state were --
as in more than 20 years in some school districts. After seeing that
article, I knew I had made the right decision.
What are your plans?
I plan to continue for the duration with the books. In 2007, I expanded to
include books to a Haitian orphanage, Eden Garden, and also a
Guatemalan program for children, Safe Passage. It’s been hard to get
books in Spanish and French. I expected French books to be hard to
find. I hope to make a book buying expedition to Quebec.
I am hopeful about working with Indian and African organizations in the
future. Shipping costs and coordination present problems. In 2004,
books went to organizations here which in turn combined donations and
shipped them to Africa (Ghana and Ethiopia).
Why books to prisons?
Research has indicated an association between poor literacy skills and
criminal activity.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/12/27/MNGF6N6FSS1.DTL
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Victoria Pilate, Ph.D.
Torment of Thirst Fund
--Questions and Answers--
--Questions and Answers--
