There are two new ways you can help Book Wish Foundation support reading in the Bredjing, Treguine, and Gaga refugee camps in eastern Chad. You don't even have to spend a dollar.

We are now a certified member of eBay Giving Works, a program that has generated more than $150 million for charities through eBay auctions. This means that, when we sell items on eBay, we can keep 100% of the proceeds (no eBay fees). So, the first way you can help is to donate exciting items we can auction and turn into funding for the Darfur refugees.

On Nov. 11, Dhi Qar University in Nasiriyah, Iraq received our first shipment of English language learning material at an event organized by our partner in Iraq, the Michael Scott Mater Foundation, with support from the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade. Dhi Qar University Chancellor Dr. Ali Ismael Obeidi Al Snafi attended with other faculty members, including the director of Dhi Qar's "American Corner" library, and representatives of the Cultural Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad were also present.

We just received our "letter of determination" from the IRS stating that Book Wish Foundation (EIN: 26-1285319) is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to Book Wish Foundation are deductible under section 170 of the Code. The effective date of exemption is October 15, 2007, our date of incorporation, meaning that all donations previously made to us are retroactively tax-deductible.

Our second shipment of Headway English textbooks has just reached the Darfur refugee camps of eastern Chad. The following report and photos from our on-the-ground partner CORD capture the moment the refugees received this "lifeline." We are now half way to meeting the needs of the English classes in the camps, and ask for your support to enable additional shipments.

It was smiles all round in Chad as the second consignment of English text books from Book Wish were distributed to the teachers and students of CORD’s Education programme.

Our second shipment of Headway ESL books has just arrived in Hadjer Hadid, Chad, the staging point for our partner CORD's relief efforts in the Bredjing, Treguine, and Gaga refugee camps. The books will soon be in the hands of hundreds of Darfur refugees hoping that learning English will be their "road to freedom." This real improvement in the lives of Darfuris is happening because of donations from you, the public, and the critical support of Oxford University Press and Air France.

Do you want to help the world’s neediest read? If so, you might be a candidate for the Board of Directors of the Book Wish Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Reston, Virginia, USA, with a mission to provide reading relief for people in crisis. Book Wish is expanding its Board to meet increasing requests for its help in troubled places around the world.

Librairie du Liban Publishers, based in Lebanon, have provided samples of two of their French-Arabic/Arabic-French dictionaries to help us find the most appropriate material for French literacy classes in villages in eastern Chad. The Al-Kamel de Poche and Mini Al-Kamel bilingual dictionaries, both by Dr. Youssof M. Reda, will be sent to Chad in our next shipment. Literacy teachers on the ground will then be able to assess their usefulness for that specific population.

As we near our goal of gathering 1,750 pairs of reading glasses for Darfur refugees and villagers in eastern Chad, a few companies, organizations, and individuals are stepping forward to ensure we fully meet the needs of these people in crisis. Birmingham Vision Care of Bloomfield Township, Michigan is just such a company. Their 43 pairs bring us closer to our target, not only in their quantity, but also in their quality and features. With magnifications up to +4.50, Birmingham Vision Care's donation includes some of the strongest readers we have received.