About a year ago our co-founder Xavier Helgesen was reading the New York Times as he often does and came across a story by reporter Nicholas Kristof that he could not ignore.  It was a pretty powerful piece about the severe lack of maternal and child health care in many parts of the world and one woman who was working to change that in the breakaway Somaliland region of Somalia in East Africa.

Her name is Edna Adan Ismail and she is an incredible woman who chose not to retire but instead to work tirelessly to save and improve the lives of women and children.  After a successful career working for the World Health Organization,  Ms. Edna used her pension and sold her Mercedes to build the The Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland where she works every day doing everything from delivering babies to teaching to rounding up surgical masks and supplies.

While this may seem impressive, it is even more impressive to note that Ms. Edna was the first midwife in Somaliland and that she was determined that there be more.  She was just unable to accept conditions in which the most dangerous thing a woman could do was to get pregnant.

As Xavier read the story of Ms. Edna and her teaching hospital and her strength and will, he knew Better World Books had to get involved and do something to help.

And where there’s a book, there’s a way.  We had the books and Ms. Edna had a teaching hospital that he was sure could benefit from having them.  Now to make the connection and figure out the logistics.

Working with Books for Africa, we selected about 6,000 medical books and other college-level books that we figured they could find a good home for in Somaliland, filled up a sea container and sent them to Ms. Edna.  It was a big job getting the books there and an even bigger job for Ms. Edna and the students to sort the books and get them where they could use them most, they couldn’t have been more excited.

“This was the biggest consignment of books ever received and we are all excited about them,” said Ms. Edna in an email to Xavier. “Please extend our deep appreciation to all who collected, packed, shipped, and donated these books to little-known and un-recognised Somaliland, a small country in East Africa, where three and a half million people are looking for basic health care.”

The Nursing, English, and Management textbooks were donated to the nursing students while the remaining medical texts went into the Hospital’s Library and the remainder of the non-medical college level textbooks were distributed to the Universities of Burao, Berbera, and Hargeisa where they could best be used.

It’s not just about books on shelves – it’s about real change.

Ms. Edna said it best in her email:

“Your books have given us the means to train an additional 22 new students in Community Midwifery which is a new category of students we did not train before. These students do not only learn one skill but are trained for 18 months during which they are taught safe practice of Midwifery. This is the first time that this category is being trained for our country and they are being trained for the far and isolated regions and districts of our Somaliland where they will be the only professional health workers in a wide geographical area. We are confident that this training will be a concrete way to reduce the un-acceptably high maternal and child morbidity and mortality rate of these communities.”

The fight for better health care for mothers and babies rages on in many parts of the world and we are so proud to have helped in at least this small way.  For more information on how you can help, visit The Edna Adan Maternity and Teaching Hospital website.

]]> http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2010/08/13/where-theres-a-book-theres-a-way/feed/ 7 http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2009/09/17/better-world-books-at-socap09/ http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2009/09/17/better-world-books-at-socap09/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:34:26 +0000 Dana http://blog.betterworldbooks.com/?p=4376 September has been a very busy month here at Better World Books.  Our warehouse is busy processing and shipping loads of textbooks to all the students gearing up for fall and we have been unplugging ourselves from our computers to get out into the real world and meet some of you.

The beginning of the month found CEO David Murphy, Co-founder Xavier Helgesen and myself at the SOCAP09 Conference in San Francisco.  David spoke on a panel called SELLING WITHOUT SELLING OUT with Terry Mollner from Calvert Social Investment Fund and Sunny Vanderbeck from Satori Capital while Xavier took in as many of the talks as he could and soaked up some great information to bring back to the job.

I was there to run the SOCAP / Better World Books bookstore where we had a great selection of the best books on social enterprise along with the latest and greatest titles in the business world. Check out our list and let me know if you have any recommendations for business must reads!

I also got to meet some great people like David Erickson from the Federal Reserve who was signing his new book The Housing Policy Revolution and Steve Goldberg, author of Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets.  I also got to work with some wonderful volunteers like Anne Peskoe, Saunders Moore, Morgan Springer and Purabi Thakre who really helped keep the store running smoothly.  (Thanks guys…and great to meet each of you!!)

Great news!  As you probably already know, promoting literacy has always been woven into the fabric of our business.  Now we’re delighted to announce we’ve given an ownership stake to our non-profit literacy partners.   Yup…we’ve granted Incentive Stock Options to these partners – as far as we know, a first for social enterprise.

The purpose of the plan, put together with the help of our primary investor, Good Capital, is to ensure that our literacy partners can have a stake in and share in our financial success.

We’ve put aside roughly 5% of the company for use in stock option grants to an initial group of five literacy partners (with potential to add others in the future):  Books for Africa, Invisible Children, Room To Read, WorldFund and the National Center for Family Literacy.

One of our fearless leaders Xavier Helgesen puts it best:  “We created Better World Books to show that it is possible to do good while at the same time run a successful company.  Our literacy partners are essential to our mission, and we want them to flourish.  Today’s announcement ensures that as our company grows, our partners will too.”

Check out the press release to get all the details. Or read more about it at Change.org.

David is speaking in a session on “pitching your ideas”. On the panel with David are:

Ben Black from New Cycle Capital. New Cycle just closed a $30 Million fund to invest in conscious companies.

Karyn Barsa, CEO of Investors Circle, was formerly CEO of Smith & Hawken and COO of Patagonia. Investors’ Circle is a network of socially conscious angel investors.

Moderating is Tess Reynolds from New Door Ventures.

Interestingly, I bumped into a fellow couchsurfer, Jon Gosier, in the audience. He’s doing fascinating things with incubating programming talent in Kampala, Uganda.

Ben says that a warm introduction is key. In this day of LinkedIn and Facebook, any entrepreneur worth their salt ought to be able to make a connection with the funder you want.

David stressed the point about building a long-term relationship with a funding source. At Better World Books, we knew the team at Good Capital for nearly 18 months before we agreed to a deal where they would invest to help grow Better World Books. Over that time, we grew a level of trust and a depth of personal relationships.

Ben says that its very important to match the stage your venture is at with the funding you need. If you are just starting up, you don’t want to contact an expansion stage fund.

Karyn says to start a pitch with an eye-catching stastistic. What is the magnitude of the problem you’re trying to solve? At Better World Books, one of our core stats is that 1 in 7 people worldwide can’t read. Another is that books are the most purchased product online in worldwide.

Ben wants to know exactly who you are as a person. If you invest in a business, you’ll be joined at the hip with a person for seven years. You want a record, starting from high school, of tenacity. He also wants to hear about the team. Who are the all-stars who you’ve surrounded yourself with?

No matter how long you are told that you have to pitch, you really have 5 minutes, says David. During that first five minutes you have to establish a story. In the case of Better World Books, the story is all about how in college, you probably paid too much for textbooks and felt like you got next to nothing when you brought them back to the bookstore. The segues to the first book drive we ever ran, at Notre Dame’s campus for the Robinson Community Learning Center.

Ben says you’re going to get a lot more nos than yeses, but each meeting is a great opportunity to learn more about your business and make further connections.

Question to Karyn – what about the current economic situation? Karyn says that multi-stakeholder investment is the future. We’re going through a financial reordering, and that is a lot of what we’re working on with Social Capital Markets. She and Ben are still out there looking for deals.

Question: what’s a “social deal” and what’s a “regular deal”? Ben says that they look for businesses that have more positive social impact the bigger they get. They’ve invested in a company that helps people get out of debt and another one that promotes energy efficiency.

Question: how do you judge risk in a social investment? Ben says that part of the question is how big can your big wins get? 40% of venture-backed businesses will fail, so you obviously are taking on risk.

We need to turn this economy around and I’m an ardent believer that a truly green economy is our answer. The economic opportunity to reuse items (such as the Better World Books model), to build renewable energy sources, and to make our homes and businesses more energy efficient is a trillion dollar opportunity that can’t be outsourced. I believe Better World Books is a perfect example of this. We’ve taken over an old packaging plant in post-industrial Mishawaka, Indiana and created a lot of jobs. These aren’t just your standard warehouse pick-and-pack. They include high-paying jobs in technology and analytics.

Van Jones’ book about the Green Collar Economy could not have come at a better time. Driven by Van’s considerable evangelization skills, Green Collar Jobs have become a widely known concept. You may have noticed that the presidential candidates have integrated Van’s rhetoric into their own stump speeches and platforms. His book is selling briskly, and it is highly worth a read.

The momentum was unbelievable – there were two congresspeople in attendance, and an address to the audience recorded by none other than Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the UN.

Better World Books is still easily Books For Africa’s largest source of funding, and we presented them with a $95,000 check just to remind everyone. BWB delivers more funding (and a lot of books!) than they receive from OPEC, USAID, or the Minnesota Vikings, all supporters as well.

So Better World Books, be proud of every day you spend working. As Tom Warth, BFA’s founder says, “the children of Africa thank you”.

However, if you have Finnish under control maybe you can tell us what this awesome full page pull out says in KD or as they know it “Kristillisdemokraattinen viikkolehti” (yes, that is the title of the newspaper… seriously).  So far on the site I’ve ascertained that “Etusivu = homepage” and “Arkisto = archive.”

If you can find it, in the March 30th edition we got some awesome press (I think…):
“Lukutaidon edistamiseen jo mlijoonia dollareita: Haaveilen jo koulussa yrityksesta, jonka toimintaan liittyisi erottamattomasti hyvantekevaisyys, sanoo Xavier Hegelsen.”

Hey… I recognize something there!

[Update, I think "Haku" is search but I have yet to find the article in the archives... I'll keep you posted!]

[Update 2: This is an interview with Xavier!  Scandanavia loves its own!]

For more press about Better World Books go HERE.

Good times! They kinda were quick with the whole “Oscars thank you music ending” though, no?

For more info check out his previous post.

We’re hoping to fund a lot of girls’ scholarships through Room to Read‘s “Room to Grow” program. We set up a mini-bookshop of about 150 carefully selected titles, and of course people could shop BetterWorld.com if they couldn’t find something on the shelves.

I’ll be posting much more from the festival soon. For now, a few photos:

Some new friends showing off their “Speak softly and carry a bag of books.” tote bags from Better World Books.

Well Read indeed! The Book Throne: it’s everywhere you want to be.

*November 12, 2007

Rain is soaking the red dirt roads and we are exhausted as we head to the fifth and final school of the day, Nomevu High School. We are running late because of a long presentation at Mafunda HS, but the students at Nomevu are waiting for us, even though many have quite a walk home ahead of them. Alone on a grassy hill, this school has just one building. There’s only room for the 8th and 9th graders, so they’ll have to drop out by 10th grade.

Teachers greet us at Nomevu High School.

Thankfully, ECAG-USA, an non-profit building classrooms in this area and that organized our Africa trip (see their website or read the previous post), has placed this school as #1 on the waiting list for more classrooms, so that the students can graduate.

The process for a school to get new classrooms is that the school’s home community puts up a $1000 payment per classroom, and then, through fundraising and donations, ECAG sponsors the additional $11,000. The classrooms have a standard design, so the materials are accountable to the last brick and can house around 50 students comfortably. They are built with electrical wiring, but adding power is an extra for the school to pay. What happens if ECAG doesn’t build? That’s it; no new classrooms. The kids don’t graduate, or in some cases, have no school at all. Many students in this area still learn under a tree, but on a rainy day like this, it’s a day off. Cool! say the American kids, but think of how often it can rain in a season here! And, no desks, no library.. hardly a good learning environment.

I have mentioned that all primary students are fed a meal each day at school. What we learned today is that the government doesn’t sponsor high school students, so that means these kids at Nomevu had been waiting for us, without eating all day. Our hearts are breaking for these humble, appreciative students. Sorry this post might be a downer, but after we’d fallen in love with so many kids all day it was really hitting us, how hard life can be here. On the way here, on the radio, the newscaster announced that HIV/AIDS is the #1 killer of children in South Africa. How were these kids today so full of life?  I had to wonder if they thought our visit meant that we would be able to solve their problems, or if it was, you know, just a lot of fun.  I certainly had a wonderful day, but still I felt a bit guilty.

The end of a long day, Nomevu HS.

Like at every school, the students had songs and dances ready for us, including  the native costumes for the girls. I don’t feel comfortable posting video of the girls to BWB because they are topless, but I did think they were so beautiful. My favorite choral performance of the day, however, was this one:

Let it shine in Zululand video. (youtube)

The teachers provided a snack for us of sandwiches and chicken in the other classroom. Knowing the kids hadn’t eaten, and since we’d had snacks all day, nobody made a move for the spread. Some of the ladies in our group whispered we had to take something to not be rude, so begrudgingly, we did. More guilt… Anyway, we unloaded the sandwiches and drinks we had in the vans. With that and all the leftovers from the snack, there was enough for a small meal for each student, and we felt better knowing they had eaten.

What a day! We are overwhelmed but ready to help these students graduate. If you’ve been following this blog, you remember that at the end of this day, after Nomevu HS, we went to visit the student Nomkhosi’s family.

Xavier and Erin, bottom left, and the ECAG and Books for Africa group, enjoy the show.

*November 12, 2007

If you’ve noticed it’s been Nov. 12th for a few posts, you are not crazy and I am not mistaken; as I mentioned earlier, we went to five schools and visited a student’s home all in the same day! There is so much to cover that I had to break it up into several posts.

After Thembalisizwe Primary, we headed to Emasundwini Primary school. We’re not cruising around a town to get there; we drive on small country roads, through hills dotted with clusters of straw-roofed huts (don’t forget the zebras by the roadside). At the school, are six buildings, green and white this time.  This is another Books for Africa school and we visited the new library.

Emasundswini Library.mov (3.38 MB)

Additionally, some of the group, including Xavier, taught the students a small lesson using a world map (“Can you tell me where South Africa is?”). The teachers surprised us with finger sandwiches, which we ate tentatively (would we get sick?).

[I have to note, looking back, that nobody did get sick from the food. I was expecting to, since my world travel experiences have taught me that when one travels, one spends a day not eating if you know what I mean.]

I think Xavier needed to work off his sandwich, so he challenged some kids to a footrace. Note how he thought the finish line was a bit earlier than the kids.
Xavier races kids 3.mov (2.18 MB)

Next up was Gqokinsimbi High School, a very special one to our leader, Henry Bromelkamp. He has personally sponsored a classroom here through ECAG-USA. He started this organization after visiting the area and learning about the original organization, Eshowe Community Action Group, whose purpose is to build classrooms in the rural area around the town of Eshowe. Henry founded the US arm so that American donors could give money more easily and be able to write off donations at tax-time.  This all begs the question, Why doesn’t the South Africa government build classrooms in Zululand? Exactly. The government, possibly via some lingering racist sentiment (this authors opinion), doesn’t build here, but if ECAG does, the government will provide teachers and daily meals for primary students.
About the school name: I think the letter q stands for a click sound. Awesome!

I like this video because it shows that high school kids are truly the same everywhere.
video of Xavier talking to a cute girl at Gqokinsimbi HS. (youtube)

Barb Ryan, Xavier and Henry teach some maps at Mafunda HS.

Later on was Mafunda High School, with slogans “We Live For Tomorrow” and “Conquer the World Through Education” displayed near the entrance. Here again, our group taught classroom lessons, this time using photos of Minnesota (where most of the group hails from), showing seasons and such. Not one student answered affirmatively to the question, “Has anyone seen snow before?” None of us thought a description alone can really convey what snow is like, but the students did enjoy seeing pictures of snowmen and discussing what makes our countries similar and different.
Here again, we were treated to food and drink and a very detailed PowerPoint of the school’s goals through 2010.  These included the idea that the “doors would never shut” because the school would create an adult ed. program in the evenings, and sponsor community meeting space.

Here are some guys with beautiful voices and sweet moves. The ululations you hear are typical of how girls sing while guys dance here.
video of boys performing at Mafunda HS. (youtube)

Okay, one more school today… in next blog entry.

Girls perform at Mafunda HS.

Teacher at Mafunda HS.

If you happen to be perusing CNET’s News Blog today (or if you like following the myriad links that we post), you’ll see a reference to a company you may recognize.  Hailed as “Eco-Alternative to Amazon funds literacy programs” Better World Books gets a pat on the back for all the hard work we do (which isn’t why we do it, but it feels good sometimes).

The article begins with a story you may have heard before:

F. Xavier Helgesen had big dreams to build Web sites after graduating from Notre Dame in 2001 with an MIS degree, but then the dot-com industry crashed.

Instead he co-founded a company in 2002 that sells books otherwise destined for the landfill, sends some of the proceeds to literacy groups, and uses carbon-neutral shipping…

and goes on with the good news of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, including our free shipping in the US, our flat rate $2.97 for international orders and how we use not just no-value books but use discarded, once landfill bound library shelving to store the books (680,000 lbs of library shelving, in fact).

Check out the full article.

*November 12, 2007

Library in Thembalisizwe Primary School.

We started our day of school visits at a very fortunate school, Thembalisizwe (“Hope of the Nation”) Primary. We passed by zebras on the drive down rust dirt roads bordered by emerald green fields. I say fortunate because this school has benefited from the generosity of many organizations. It has a water reticulation system and latrines from a Wisconson Rotary Club, classrooms built by the Eshowe Community Action Group (ECAG) and a library from BWB.  The buildings are pink and yellow and surrounded by manicured walks and ornamental bushes planted by students.

We are hosted by Jethro, dressed in a pin-striped suit with yellow shirt and gold tie.  He is the principal and a born orator who has recently been to the USA and knows what wealth we have in our country.  After we saw the school he appealed to us, “Some of you may be touched, and donate.”  He lays out his vision for the school: more computers, internet, a dining hall with a proper kitchen, more classrooms. Currently, two volunteer women prepare food over fires in a shed-like structure; each primary student is fed one meal a day at school.

We wandered the campus for a few minutes, listening to the learners singing in their classrooms as they do each morning and then headed to a multi-use room for a presentation by the student body.

Xavier, Jethro and Melanie (ECAG South Africa director) watch students perform.

This was such a treat! Students of all ages sang, danced and recited poetry and speeches for us. We heard our national anthem and joined in for South Africa’s, heard gospel songs in Zulu language, and one seemingly written for our group. The lyrics included these lines:

America, America! America you’re so beautiful.
Some of us are the orphans, some of us are so needy (2x).
America, America! America you’re so beautiful.
We love you, hey! We need you, hey! Can you help us, we’re so needy!

We were a little uncomfortable to hear that one. It was strange to be somewhere for the purpose of helping, when the need is known, but to hear the kids sing about it. Xavier and I discussed how in the US it is bad form to appeal in that way. More cultural lessons: the 5th and 6th grade girls left the room in school uniforms and returned in costume, which was a miniskirt, a string of beads and a cardboard shield.  Our group had to overcome a bit of shock to see these young girls dancing and singing, quite well in fact, but wearing nothing above the waist. I thought it was cool to see this total other sort of body acceptance, as compared to the US.

Video of boys performing a traditional dance (youtube)

According to the program director, the school is “not like a pond, but like a running river,” never stagnant.  When she thanked the Books for Africa board members of our group, she said the learners “have acquired certain skills, such as investigation. Our learners can investigate to find information. Our learners are different than previous; they have learned new skills from their library.” (YAY!)

Video of the library (youtube)

Students wave goodbye at Thembalisizwe Primary School, Zululand, South Africa.

That’s right, it’s Better World Books’ own, co-founder Xavier Helgesen!  Xavier, on top of a throne of Reader’s Digest books that resides in our “Fortress of Solitude” (ok, it’s just the warehouse) is the image of the hot new topic:

Strategies: Mission Possible
Making money while doing good isn’t easy, but more companies are proving it can be done.  Here are some successful strategies. (article by Anne Field)

Pick up the issue at newsstands (or wherever you pickup up your glossies) and read about it.  If print journalism doesn’t float your boat you could always root around for it online at their website.

I know Henry through my work on the Board of Books For Africa. It’s a collection of truly dedicated and passionate professionals who come together on their nights and weekends to help end the book famine in Africa. Henry’s a traveler after my own heart, preferring backpackers’ hostels to any hotel that brags about its star rating. He invited a number of his friends and business associates along on the trip, and over the weeks, they quickly became new friends. Although I normally abhor group travel, it made a lot of sense for this trip. The logistics of all the school visits and book recipient visits would have been daunting if we had not banded together. Another unexpected benefit was that I got to drive a rental 6-speed Mercedes mini-van on the left side of the road all over South Africa. Fun! I hate cars for the damage they do to the environment and culture… but I love to drive, especially in unfavorable circumstances. Consider it a guilty pleasure.

I blocked off what was easily my longest stretch away from the office since we founded Better World Books five years ago. The whole month of November I would be largely offline, with the exception of a few phone calls and email checks. A trip like this would have been inconceivable a few years ago, but thanks to the incredible team we’ve built at Better World, I didn’t sweat it in the least. I knew the ops would keep humming under Kreece’s leadership, BetterWorld.com would keep getting better thanks to Dale, Geoff, and Justin, and on and on. I think everybody was glad to not have to humor any of my crazy ideas for a whole month.

Speaking of crazy ideas, I had high hopes of being able to live-blog this trip from a OLPC, the $199 laptop designed specifically for the developing world. Sadly, the OLPC people didn’t have pre-release laptops available, and at any rate, Africa’s low Internet connectivity wouldn’t have permitted much blogging other than a few quick posts. So, loyal readers, you get the next best thing. Think of this as a time-delayed live-blog. We’ll be blogging with videos and photos and get as close as we can to bringing you along on the trip.

Also speaking of crazy ideas – we’ll be launching a customer loyalty system for Better World in 2008. Rather than give away blenders, coffee mugs, and similar rubbish, we thought that a few loyal customers should come to Africa with us to visit the literacy projects in person. After all, it’s customers that make this whole thing possible. Why should Better World employees have all the fun? This idea deserved a beta test. My friend and longtime Better World customer Erin Fleming agreed to join me and help document the trip. She’s typical of our customers – well read, globally minded, socially conscious, (and cheap!). Her perspective will really bring the trip to life for you.

Keep tuning in over the next month as Erin and I travel Zambia, South Africa and Malawi.

To whet your appetite, I’ve attached a few Youtube videos. These are from Erin and I hitchhiking in Malawi. Don’t worry – our traveling companions took a lot of convincing to leave us by the side of the road in Malawi.

Check it out, the self-proclaimed leader in city blogs (with the data to back it), Gothamist LLC, posted an interview with our own Xavier Hegelsen, now Director of Business Development. Xavier is currently “bik[ing] around town, writing his first book” and living in San Francisco. Hop over to SFist for the good word.

An excellent highlight to the conference was our very own Xavier Helgesen’s presentation on Green Business Practices. The conversation covered an excellent and wide array of topics including many of the efforts the BWB is making to be a greener company everyday. We had a great time discussing the concept of being a carbon neutral company and how carbon credits and investment in alternative energy practices are rapidly becoming integrated in daily business practices across the country. It was also an excellent opportunity for blossoming entrepreneurs to get some great feedback on the difficulties and finer points of starting a socially conscious business. WorldFund’s Michelle Viegas was also attended, which enabled some excellent discussions on the differences between the non-profit and for-profit business worlds.

It was wonderful to meet representatives from all over the country and I am grateful for such a warm welcoming from the whole Idealist crew, DePaul University , and everyone who attended the conference.

“As soon as I found out about BWB I began telling my friends to order from you in the future. If our money can not only purchase books but encourage reading programs, why wouldn’t we support that?”

“ The Better World Books philosophy matches several of my personal ethics very closely. I hate waste, I support recycling, I love books/reading/literacy and I support pragmatic, intelligent aid systems, especially those where the purchaser gains something of value as well as feeling they’ve helped others. Keep it up, folks. Peter Bryenton www.brypix.com”

“I would recommend Better World Books, because your prices are good, you send orders out quickly; I love to read and feel strongly that everyone should have the opportunity to discover reading, so I love knowing that by buying from you I am helping that happen.”

In that regard, few book shipments have warmed my heart more than this one. Late in 2006, a shipment of 15,000 books direct from the Better World Books warehouse arrived at the Ahfad University for Women, a private, non-sectarian University with 5,000 students. Sudan and its people have been victims of a corrupt and genocidal ruling regime. I’ve always believed that regime change is more likely to succeed by educating minds than toting guns. I wonder if the next generation of leaders in Sudan may include women educated at this University.

Below are some pictures from the book distribution. These are exceptionally high quality and recent textbooks, which students in the USA and Canada originally paid about $1 Million for. All it took was a lot of gumption on the part of everyone involved with Better World to get them to Sudan.