Press Release
American people provide books to hearing impaired students
November 25, 2008
Nov. 25, Buguruni, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – U.S. Embassy official Grant Gleisner recently donated over 100 books to the Buguruni School for the Deaf on behalf of the American people.
When Gleisner, a former librarian for the public library system in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, learned he would be moving with his spouse to Tanzania, he organized fellow librarians from the county library system to donate their time and funds to collect and ship reading materials for donation in Tanzania.
The result was that Gleisner added over 100 books, ranging from picture books to young adult fiction, to the school’s collection, along with a few very welcomed items of sports equipment. The school has enrollment of approximately 240 hearing impaired students from all parts of Tanzania, and is located in the Buguruni area of Dar es Salaam. After touring the campus and meeting several of the students – including learning a few basic sign-language gestures – Gleisner handed over the materials to a very happy group of students.
This donation for the students of Buguruni School is in addition to the millions of brand new school books procured by the American people for the students of Tanzania through various programs this year. It is part of the more than 750 billion Tanzanian shillings in direct and multilateral assistance this fiscal year from the American people to the people of Tanzania.