Pencils of Promise Founding Story
It began with a question. A small boy begging in the streets of India. “What do you want most in the world?”
“A pencil,” he replied.
I reached into my backpack, handed him my pencil, and watched as a wave of possibility washed over him.
A smile erupted and his eyes brightened. I then saw the profound power and promise brought through something as small as giving a pencil to just one child. Over the next five years, I backpacked through more than 50 countries, handing out thousands of pens and pencils across six continents. These pencils, these small pieces of potential, led to powerful conversations with local parents and children across countless cultures and languages. From years of listening to their words, it became clear that there was a need for an international nonprofit that was led on-the-ground by a staff of locals from within each country, required village participation in each school, and deeply supported, trained and tracked each student to ensure their success. These are the guidelines on which PoP was founded in October 2008.
The Promise Duo will be available for purchase on August 1st - there is a limited amount of stock available & is ready to ship. They will only be sold as a set, retailing for $31 CAD and $2 CAD from each set sold will be donated to Pencils of Promise once they are sold out.