Support a Global Pen Pal Program Through JGIA’s ‘Roots & Shoots’ Program
There is a lack of connection between young people around the world. Through Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots programs in Australia, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, there is an opportunity to bridge this disconnect.
How Jane Goodall Institute Australia’s project addresses this problem:
The Pen Pal Program provides primary, secondary and university students with a chance to connect to young people in other cultures, build friendships, develop literacy and communication skills, plus deepen global engagement.
Through the Pen Pal Program, Roots & Shoots members write bi-monthly letters to one another, sharing around key themes such as: environmental conservation; peace and well being; family and culture; faith and belief; and their dreams for the future.
We hope the pilot will become a permanent program. Currently the program cost is covered purely by volunteers. Expressed as a cost, if we were covering the volunteer hours as paid staff, we would estimate the program to be costing around $9,000 per annum at the current scale of the project. This fee would rise with the expansion of the program to more countries.