July 26, 2025 • 11 mins
Kids love new books, no matter where you live! In the eastern Caribbean, many schools and libraries don't have enough books for children to enjoy, something that's contributing to child illiteracy. While people here in the US pull together book drives with the best of intentions, oftentimes, the books that arrive are either in bad shape or not culturally relevant. Hands Across the Sea buys books new and works with people in the Caribbean to distribute them where they're needed most. Ben Engle, the Executive Director of Hands Across the Sea, joins Nichole to talk about their mission.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each and every week right here, we come together, we
talk about all the topics important to you and the
place where you live. It's great to be back with
you this weekend. I'm Nicole Davis. It's hard not to
enjoy the smell and the feel and the experience of
opening up a brand new book, especially when you're a
(00:26):
kid and somebody gives it to you and you know
that book is all yours. Kids in the Caribbean, of course,
love to do that too. Many here stateside want to
make sure there are plenty of books in the islands
for the kids to enjoy. So through book drives and
end of school clean out some publisher extras, all these
books are gathered and then sent down to schools in
the Caribbean. Trouble is, even though yes, it is a
(00:48):
nice gesture, a Boston nonprofit called Hands Across the Sea says,
the books that are sent are often inappropriate, they're out
of date, or they're just not culturally relevant for these kids.
They're now working to that to make sure students in
the Eastern Caribbean have thoughtful, fun, modern educational books to
enjoy just like kids in New England. Ben Engel is
(01:09):
the executive director of Hands Across the Sea. They're based
in Boston. He is here now to talk with us
about this, so thank you for the time. I'd love
to know a bit more about your mission and how
this all started up in the first place.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Hands Across the Sea what's founded and began with a
simple goal get high quality, culturally relevant books into the
hands of Eastern Caribbean students who had little or no
access to reading material.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
How big of an effort has it grown into now?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It's core initiative to the Caribbean Literacy and School Support Program,
which we abbreviate as CLASS has placed over six hundred
thirty six thousand new books into schools and communities across
the region. So we're in six countries down there, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada,
Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and
(01:57):
the Grenadians. The second program that we have is called
the Early Pages Program and that supports preschool educators. It's
now active in over seventy six schools as of last year,
and this year we're going to be bringing the program
to Saint Vincent and Mcgredadine's. We're going to be adopting
twenty preschools there, which we're very excited about.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So how do you get the books to these kids?
How does this all happen?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So getting books to the islands, we have literacy links
placed in every single island. So these literacy links work
for hands across the sea as contractors. They are former educators,
former education ministers, former school principals. They really know the
islands and the culture really well. They advise hands across
(02:45):
the sea on which schools are ready for books and
which schools have the administration and teachers that are really
excited about getting kids books and have a system for
getting those kids' books to and we essentially reach out.
We work with the schools directly. We work with the
(03:06):
National Ministries of Education. We work with the Organization of
Eastern Caribbean States very closely. We are a partner with them,
and we select schools every year to get books. We
order books that are culturally relevant from three major publishers, Penguins,
Scholastics and Caribbean Reads, and we physically ship those books
(03:32):
every fall down to the schools to make sure that
those libraries are well stopped.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
That's amazing. And are you getting donations from local schools
as well? Or are these all brand new books for
the kids?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
These are all brand new books. These collections are very
carefully curated to be culturally relevant, age appropriate. We work
with educators to make sure that we're getting the right
books for the right students. We have several programs that
make sure students with learning differences have access to books
(04:04):
as well. And all these books are brand new and
they're very carefully chosen to make sure that we're meeting
the right needs down there.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
How serious of an issue is literacy or a lack
of literacy in the Caribbean right now? And what sort
of progress do you feel is being made to turn
that around?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So literacy remains a national priority across the entire Eastern Caribbean.
There are definitely some major barriers there children. Most children
don't grow up with access to books at home or school.
There are very few trained librarians, there's limited early childhood
literacy materials and almost no support for children with learning
(04:48):
disabilities and learning differences. The COVID nineteen pandemic definitely deepened
this learning loss and if you add in the increasing
currence and occurrence and strength of her knes in the region.
I've got a major challenge of sustaining learning in physical
books and structures down there. Our data shows that over
one third of children live in poverty, and that just
(05:11):
obviously furthers the impact of educational outcomes, you know, being
affected negatively by the different challenges that those people face.
You know, Hands across the Sea is definitely making an impact.
We see a lot of changes in the student's engagement
in classrooms. We see families getting more involved, parents getting
(05:34):
more involved, teachers, administrators all very excited. Of course, once
one school gets gets books, we hear from three or
five more schools in the surrounding area saying, hey, we're ready,
we're ready to start a library as well. So we're
we're doing we're doing great work down there, and we're
making a very big impact. That's becoming evident over time
(05:56):
as Hands across the Sea grows, grows to different different
areas in those islands and gets more books to people.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Do you plan on staying in just the Eastern Caribbean
or do you plan on maybe heading to other islands
like Jamaica or Haiti, or maybe the Dominican Republic.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
We are definitely open for expansion down the line. The
countries that we're in right now definitely still need more
help and one of the one of the challenges that
we face as well as sustaining those libraries. So like
like I mentioned before, the occurrence of hurricanes and the
(06:35):
strength of hurricanes is increasing decade over decade in the
Eastern Caribbean. So we see schools that we get books
to and they can get totally wiped out by a
major storm. Hurricane Barrel was specifically a hurricane in the
last couple of years that had a major impact. So
schools that we have a strong commitment to to making
(06:58):
sure that we don't just give them books and then
forget about them. You know, we're returning to make sure
that those books are well sustained while taken care of them.
We replace them when when they need to be replaced.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Have you all decided that you want to stay with
just physical books or maybe what about e readers or
audio books or chrome books or something. Is that something
you're spreading into or just sticking with the good old, solid,
regular books.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
So we tend to stick to physical books. There's obviously
a price component that is difficult to reach with technology.
You know, the the books are are definitely more affordable.
They are things that students can take home. So obviously
these are libraries we're talking about. There's lending involved. So
(07:44):
these books go home and they get passed around, and
we find that, you know, buying books, sustaining the books,
that's the best investment that the organization can make in
terms of ensuring that that more kids get more books.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
So then if how many wants to donate, they want
to help you out, I'm assuming the best way to
go about this because again, you buy these books new,
but it's not for people to go to their local
bookstore and just buy up like three hundred dollars worth
of books and bring them to you. I'm assuming money
is probably a little bit easier for you than physical donations.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Correct, definitely, Yeah, you're spot on there. So the organization's
website hands ACROSSTHC dot org is a great place to
visit to see what we're doing. You can make a
financial donation there. That would be the most effective way
to make impact. We are a very lean organization. We
(08:38):
work very hard to make sure that people's donations go
directly to getting books to the islands, and our data
is showing right now that just thirty dollars a year
ensures that one child receives books and our literacy programs
down there. So these are things that are affordable, they're attainable,
(09:01):
and we really appreciate all the support we can get.
We have a small team of core volunteers. We do
one physical book packing every year, so we're really not
looking to expand our volunteer base right now, though it
is something that we're open to discussing in the future. Definitely,
(09:24):
financial support right now is the best way to make
sure that we can impact impact these people the greatest.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
There's been a lot of cuts on the federal level
lately to programs like the Peace Corps Americ Corps and
I see that you work closely with the Peace Corps
in your mission here. How is this impacting you and
your efforts in this part of the world.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yeah, well, it's definitely impacting the people that we serve
at the schools that we partner with the most. So
the Peace Corps very generously supports our efforts inn Islands
by helping monitor and sustain the libraries down there, working
very closely with our literacy links to making sure that
(10:08):
these libraries are utilized and well maintained.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
We have.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yet to see. I think that this is the type
of thing that we're going to find over this upcoming
school year is kind of what the major impact is
going to be down there. But yeah, it's definitely going
to have a negative impact across the board, I think,
losing any funding to the Peace Corps.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
All right, So if people want to find out more
again website, social media, where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yep, So the best thing to do is go to
our website, hands across the seed dot org and you
can make a donation there. You can definitely read more
about what the organization does, see some amazing pictures of
the children with the books that we send down. It's
really quite heartwarming to see see children and holding up
there their books that they get to bring home, and
(11:04):
you know, they fall in love with collections and specific
authors and series and things like that. So it's really
easy to make a smaller large gift and have incredible impact.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
All right, Well, Ben, thanks so much for your time
and thanks for all the work you're doing down there
in the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Thank you Nicole, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each and every week right here, we come together, we
talk about all the topics important to you and the
place where you live. It's great to be back with
you this weekend. I'm Nicole Davis. It's hard not to
enjoy the smell and the feel and the experience of
opening up a brand new book, especially when you're a
(00:26):
kid and somebody gives it to you and you know
that book is all yours. Kids in the Caribbean, of course,
love to do that too. Many here stateside want to
make sure there are plenty of books in the islands
for the kids to enjoy. So through book drives and
end of school clean out some publisher extras, all these
books are gathered and then sent down to schools in
the Caribbean. Trouble is, even though yes, it is a
(00:48):
nice gesture, a Boston nonprofit called Hands Across the Sea says,
the books that are sent are often inappropriate, they're out
of date, or they're just not culturally relevant for these kids.
They're now working to that to make sure students in
the Eastern Caribbean have thoughtful, fun, modern educational books to
enjoy just like kids in New England. Ben Engel is
(01:09):
the executive director of Hands Across the Sea. They're based
in Boston. He is here now to talk with us
about this, so thank you for the time. I'd love
to know a bit more about your mission and how
this all started up in the first place.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Hands Across the Sea what's founded and began with a
simple goal get high quality, culturally relevant books into the
hands of Eastern Caribbean students who had little or no
access to reading material.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
How big of an effort has it grown into now?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It's core initiative to the Caribbean Literacy and School Support Program,
which we abbreviate as CLASS has placed over six hundred
thirty six thousand new books into schools and communities across
the region. So we're in six countries down there, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada,
Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and
(01:57):
the Grenadians. The second program that we have is called
the Early Pages Program and that supports preschool educators. It's
now active in over seventy six schools as of last year,
and this year we're going to be bringing the program
to Saint Vincent and Mcgredadine's. We're going to be adopting
twenty preschools there, which we're very excited about.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So how do you get the books to these kids?
How does this all happen?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So getting books to the islands, we have literacy links
placed in every single island. So these literacy links work
for hands across the sea as contractors. They are former educators,
former education ministers, former school principals. They really know the
islands and the culture really well. They advise hands across
(02:45):
the sea on which schools are ready for books and
which schools have the administration and teachers that are really
excited about getting kids books and have a system for
getting those kids' books to and we essentially reach out.
We work with the schools directly. We work with the
(03:06):
National Ministries of Education. We work with the Organization of
Eastern Caribbean States very closely. We are a partner with them,
and we select schools every year to get books. We
order books that are culturally relevant from three major publishers, Penguins,
Scholastics and Caribbean Reads, and we physically ship those books
(03:32):
every fall down to the schools to make sure that
those libraries are well stopped.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
That's amazing. And are you getting donations from local schools
as well? Or are these all brand new books for
the kids?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
These are all brand new books. These collections are very
carefully curated to be culturally relevant, age appropriate. We work
with educators to make sure that we're getting the right
books for the right students. We have several programs that
make sure students with learning differences have access to books
(04:04):
as well. And all these books are brand new and
they're very carefully chosen to make sure that we're meeting
the right needs down there.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
How serious of an issue is literacy or a lack
of literacy in the Caribbean right now? And what sort
of progress do you feel is being made to turn
that around?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So literacy remains a national priority across the entire Eastern Caribbean.
There are definitely some major barriers there children. Most children
don't grow up with access to books at home or school.
There are very few trained librarians, there's limited early childhood
literacy materials and almost no support for children with learning
(04:48):
disabilities and learning differences. The COVID nineteen pandemic definitely deepened
this learning loss and if you add in the increasing
currence and occurrence and strength of her knes in the region.
I've got a major challenge of sustaining learning in physical
books and structures down there. Our data shows that over
one third of children live in poverty, and that just
(05:11):
obviously furthers the impact of educational outcomes, you know, being
affected negatively by the different challenges that those people face.
You know, Hands across the Sea is definitely making an impact.
We see a lot of changes in the student's engagement
in classrooms. We see families getting more involved, parents getting
(05:34):
more involved, teachers, administrators all very excited. Of course, once
one school gets gets books, we hear from three or
five more schools in the surrounding area saying, hey, we're ready,
we're ready to start a library as well. So we're
we're doing we're doing great work down there, and we're
making a very big impact. That's becoming evident over time
(05:56):
as Hands across the Sea grows, grows to different different
areas in those islands and gets more books to people.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Do you plan on staying in just the Eastern Caribbean
or do you plan on maybe heading to other islands
like Jamaica or Haiti, or maybe the Dominican Republic.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
We are definitely open for expansion down the line. The
countries that we're in right now definitely still need more
help and one of the one of the challenges that
we face as well as sustaining those libraries. So like
like I mentioned before, the occurrence of hurricanes and the
(06:35):
strength of hurricanes is increasing decade over decade in the
Eastern Caribbean. So we see schools that we get books
to and they can get totally wiped out by a
major storm. Hurricane Barrel was specifically a hurricane in the
last couple of years that had a major impact. So
schools that we have a strong commitment to to making
(06:58):
sure that we don't just give them books and then
forget about them. You know, we're returning to make sure
that those books are well sustained while taken care of them.
We replace them when when they need to be replaced.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Have you all decided that you want to stay with
just physical books or maybe what about e readers or
audio books or chrome books or something. Is that something
you're spreading into or just sticking with the good old, solid,
regular books.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
So we tend to stick to physical books. There's obviously
a price component that is difficult to reach with technology.
You know, the the books are are definitely more affordable.
They are things that students can take home. So obviously
these are libraries we're talking about. There's lending involved. So
(07:44):
these books go home and they get passed around, and
we find that, you know, buying books, sustaining the books,
that's the best investment that the organization can make in
terms of ensuring that that more kids get more books.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
So then if how many wants to donate, they want
to help you out, I'm assuming the best way to
go about this because again, you buy these books new,
but it's not for people to go to their local
bookstore and just buy up like three hundred dollars worth
of books and bring them to you. I'm assuming money
is probably a little bit easier for you than physical donations.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Correct, definitely, Yeah, you're spot on there. So the organization's
website hands ACROSSTHC dot org is a great place to
visit to see what we're doing. You can make a
financial donation there. That would be the most effective way
to make impact. We are a very lean organization. We
(08:38):
work very hard to make sure that people's donations go
directly to getting books to the islands, and our data
is showing right now that just thirty dollars a year
ensures that one child receives books and our literacy programs
down there. So these are things that are affordable, they're attainable,
(09:01):
and we really appreciate all the support we can get.
We have a small team of core volunteers. We do
one physical book packing every year, so we're really not
looking to expand our volunteer base right now, though it
is something that we're open to discussing in the future. Definitely,
(09:24):
financial support right now is the best way to make
sure that we can impact impact these people the greatest.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
There's been a lot of cuts on the federal level
lately to programs like the Peace Corps Americ Corps and
I see that you work closely with the Peace Corps
in your mission here. How is this impacting you and
your efforts in this part of the world.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yeah, well, it's definitely impacting the people that we serve
at the schools that we partner with the most. So
the Peace Corps very generously supports our efforts inn Islands
by helping monitor and sustain the libraries down there, working
very closely with our literacy links to making sure that
(10:08):
these libraries are utilized and well maintained.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
We have.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Yet to see. I think that this is the type
of thing that we're going to find over this upcoming
school year is kind of what the major impact is
going to be down there. But yeah, it's definitely going
to have a negative impact across the board, I think,
losing any funding to the Peace Corps.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
All right, So if people want to find out more
again website, social media, where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yep, So the best thing to do is go to
our website, hands across the seed dot org and you
can make a donation there. You can definitely read more
about what the organization does, see some amazing pictures of
the children with the books that we send down. It's
really quite heartwarming to see see children and holding up
there their books that they get to bring home, and
(11:04):
you know, they fall in love with collections and specific
authors and series and things like that. So it's really
easy to make a smaller large gift and have incredible impact.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
All right, Well, Ben, thanks so much for your time
and thanks for all the work you're doing down there
in the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Thank you Nicole, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.