Can You Donate A Kite Book?

by Michele Darmanin
(Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Q:

Would you consider donating one of your amazing books or whatever you feel comfortable with so it can go towards the new library we are creating for the 66 children who live on the tiny remote island in Fiji?

... I was searching on the Internet for how to make any easy kite for the primary school children who live on Viwa Island in Fiji. My reason for writing is also connected with our project we have started on behalf of the children of Viwa Island District School.

I believe your book would be an excellent resource for the children to be creative and let their imagination fly.

We would love to be able to help the children make their first kites on Viwa island, Fiji.

My husband and I began this project on 07 Feb 2012.

We are not involved with any charity or non-profit organisation.

The plain simple truth is, I am a wife, a mother of two and currently unemployed.

How did this project begin?

My husband and I travelled to Viwa Island in November 2011 for the first time.

When we returned home from Sydney we organised two boxes of books to be sent to the school children of Viwa island as they have very little of anything and even less quality reading books at their tiny island school library.

The teachers and students were delighted with the 130 second-hand books we provided them.

From a small idea of wanting to sincerely help the school children of Viwa Island in Fiji, I began contacting authors, publishing companies etc to ask if they would like to donate a book to our very worthwhile project for the children who live on a remote isolated island four hours from the mainland of Fiji.

I would greatly appreciate any contribution from you, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me via the details below. (removed for privacy reasons - T.P.)

I thank you in advance for your consideration, I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

PS.... we have received support from Virgin Australia, they will be flying 100% of donations to Fiji on 16 May 2012.

A:

I'm happy to help out with a book. These are not physical books however, so the PDF file I am mailing to you will need to be printed off and bound.

An excellent method for quickly producing a durable paperback book from A4 printouts can be found here. The required Gorilla Glue (don't use anything else!) is available in Australia now. Apparently from many independent hardware stores.

Perhaps someone from Sydney could help out here, with the printing and gluing? Contact me and I will get you in touch with Michelle.

Materials

The beauty of the Skewer book is that the kite-making materials are truly 'dirt cheap'!

Here's a suggested list of materials for your May mailing to Fiji. These should ensure there is at least one kite for every child...

• 2 packets of 100 bamboo BBQ skewers (30cm)


• 5 sticky tape dispensers (cheapest will do)


• 4 packages of the cheapest garden bags (40 individual bags altogether)


• 30 rolls of polyester sewing cotton for lines and bridles.

Perhaps a local supermarket could donate these items? That would be ideal.

Pieces of wood or heavy cardboard on the island should suffice for line winders.

Hope this is a help...