Former Elgin residents soon will make 4th mission trip to Africa
For David and Kim Olson, running Zawadi ni Zawadi is not a job -- it's a journey.
About three years ago, the longtime Elgin residents worked to take 100 pounds of supplies to a school in Kenya.
Last month, they sent 27,000 pounds of books, pencils, erasers and other supplies to a 335-student school in East Africa.
The couple are cofounders of the nonprofit organization Zawadi ni Zawadi, which translates to "A gift is a gift."
In Africa, it's an insult to ask someone what he wants for a birthday present, said David Olson, a former Elgin emergency dispatcher.
It doesn't matter what you give, he said. "The gift is you care enough about them to give something."
Olson and his wife decided five years ago while in Costa Rica to not just take vacations, but to help people, too.
Today, they've ratcheted up their efforts and have received support from church members, PTOs, checks. in-kind donations and from students donating books.
For the Olsons, who will travel to Tanzania this summer to build a library, answering the question "Why Africa?" is easy.
"In the United States, everyone has the opportunity to get ahead. It may not be easy, but you still have the opportunity," David Olson said. "There (in Tanzania) they don't have the opportunity of education, to get ahead or move beyond basic subsistence living."
Help near home
It's one thing to collect the books.
But it's another to sort, store and stack them before they're shipped across the Atlantic Ocean.
Jim Rouzer, president of Promac, an Elgin-based warehouse distribution company, may not be traveling to Africa. But he's helping.
Rouzer saw a presentation by David Olson about a year ago at the First Congregational Church of Dundee.
Rouzer, the church's lay person coordinator, immediately asked how he could help.
He gave the Olsons about 1,000 square feet of storage space -- rent free -- in his 100,000-square-foot warehouse, along with boxes, containers and forklift labor.
The move helped the Olsons use money raised for shipping instead of paying for storage.
"(They're) making a difference in the world. A lot of us would like to attach on to that as much as we can," Rouzer said. "They're willing to do the research to find out how to make something happen. I think they're dedicated on a lot of levels."
Even people at other churches are helping.
Adrienne Berna, an Elgin woman and mission ministry coordinator for St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Elgin, knew Dave through their employment at a local bank.
Berna, a retired elementary school teacher, heard him make a presentation about the Africa mission last fall.
"When he started talking about children and books, that really hooked me," she said.
The church adopted the cause for its Christmas ministry and, because of the response, extended it to Easter.
In all, they collected about 1,500 pounds of books from November through May 31 and amassed a large donation to help pay for shipping costs.
"We extended it because people seemed to be really, really giving," Berna said. "(David) is so into the mission that you can't help but get caught up in it and want to be a part of it. He truly believes this is what God wants him to do."
Lifelong project
The couple, along with fellow members of the First Congregational Church of Dundee, will leave next week for their fourth and latest mission to Africa.
Their goal is to build a library for St. Margaret's Academy in Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa, and supply an entire curriculum for St. Margaret's Academy.
The Olsons began helping students in Kenya, sponsoring two schools for several years.
School officials mandated that if the Olsons were going to help one school, they had to help every school in the entire district, which they say was impossible.
At the same time, the Olsons had sponsored two children in Tanzania.
While on a trip, they dropped in to see the school and decided they could do much more to help.
Out of that, Zawadi ni Zawadi was formed.
The Olsons operate independently and are not affiliated with organizations like World Vision, for example.
"This has become a lifelong project now," David Olson said, rattling off a dorm, high school and community library as future improvements. "Our intent is to spend more and more time in Africa."
English is spoken in Tanzania, so students there can use books donated from here.
Kim Olson said the students and villagers cherish anything they can read.
"If they get a hold of a newspaper, that's used until it can't be used anymore," she said, adding she's looking forward to blogging about their trip and showing people here how they've helped others.
"I can't wait to get there and take pictures of these little kids with their books so kids here can see their book is being read halfway around the world," she added.
The three-month trip will be the longest so far for the Olsons.
But they've prepared for it.
They've shed many of their material goods and sold their Elgin home and moved into their daughter's basement in Antioch.
"But we're richer -- not wealthier -- but richer than we've ever been," David Olson said.
Through their journey, couple has learned about themselves and the generosity of people in the Fox Valley area.
The Olsons recalled how some of their friends had young children who wanted to donate books.
Instead of grabbing a book off the shelf that they didn't like or never read, the children willingly gave up their favorite books so a child in Africa could enjoy it.
It was their gift to someone across the world that they didn't even know.
"To see little kids 'getting it,' that's important," Kim Olson said.
If you go
What: "Build a Library" Bag Toss Tournament Fundraiser for Zawadi ni Zawadi, a group that organizes missions to Tanzania, Africa. Children can make bookmarks. The Elgin-based In the Neighborhood Deli and Cafe will provide food and donate the proceeds.
When: 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: First Congregational Church of Dundee, 900 S. Eighth St., West Dundee
Who: (847) 426-2161 or (815) 325-0939
Web: For details, visit www.zawadinizawadi.com or www.zawadinizawadi.blogspot.com