Every time you buy a Philly & Friends product, you ship a book to an underprivileged child who will otherwise not have access to books. You are impacting lives.

A famous Chinese proverb says, “You give a poor man a fish, and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish, and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.” With this model, we are teaching them to ‘fish’ in the hope that they learn to leave the world of poverty one day. We are empowering them, one book at a time.

Empowering literacy became a big passion for me when I met a 32-year-old lady who had completed primary and secondary school education but could not read and write. She had come to live with my family to offer help and support. My parents took it upon themselves to help her learn to read and sponsored her through literacy lessons.

This is a massive problem because education is a vital tool for alleviating poverty. Those who can read and write stand a better chance of winning the fight against poverty. With books, they can imagine beyond their immediate surrounding and dream big into action. On the other hand, illiteracy multiplies poverty and therefore is a problem that requires urgent focus.

While we can donate money, a book though little, is a mighty sword in the hands of a small child.