Who we are
Claus Kusk Hjørnet started the project in Denmark after his first Safari in Kenya in July / August 2000 with his wife Mette. When they planned the trip, they saw it as a once in a lifetime experience they just had to try, but on their way back to Denmark had already promised each other to go back some time.
He is a 51 years old chemical engineer, married for 27 years. Most of his spare time is spent on his "Help Africa" projects, but he also finds time to be a parliamentarian in IDA - the Danish Society of Engineers, where he is an elected member of the general assembly for IAK (IDA's unemployment insurance for engineers) and supplant member of the general assembly for IDA - the main trade union organisation for engineers.
You can see Claus' Danish web site at www.pensforkids.dk (which will open in a new window)
Linda Schaffer, another safari tourist, wanted to expand the grass-roots project in an effort to reach more kids and develop greater support. In the USA, she started Pens For Kids International, Inc., a California based non-profit corporation in 2008.
You can see Linda's US web site at www.pensforkids.com (which will open in a new window)
Malcolm O'Brien spends a lot of time in hotels each year, and one afternoon was wondering what to do with the stash of free pens that he'd picked up along the way that were sitting in a drawer at home. A search on the internet for good causes needing unwanted pens led to www.pensforkids.dk; a couple of emails and phone calls to Claus later, this web site and UK branch of the organisation came into existence.
Malcolm is married to Charlotte, and they have a son (Alex) whose really enjoys helping to unpack envelopes of pens and box them up for onward distribution to Africa. Please help to make his day by sending him some!
We have a very good friend, Gill Gastle, who recently spent some time as a volunteer teacher at a school in Uganda. She took pens and rulers for us and distributed them to the following:
Buhoma Community Primary School (350 pupils)
Bwindi Vulnerable Children's School, a very poor school with mud huts and little equipment (100 pupils)
Kayashande Primary School, which has reasonable building but very little support and equipment (750 pupils)
Hope for Orphans project, which supports 300 orphans in a small village.
Gill hopes to return to Uganda again, and is encouraging friends to do the same. They call all take pens with them!
Fatima Moreira and Angela Carvalho have opened up a regional centre of Pens For Kids in Portugal.
There's no web site yet, but you can find their contact details by looking under our Contacts link.
There's a Facebook link at http://www.facebook.com/groups/pensforkidspt/282906101731402/
Sara Cody and Punita Patel Mandalia set up Pens for Kids Australia in 2010.
There's no web site yet, but you can find their contact details by looking under our Contacts link.
There's a Facebook link at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pens-For-Kids-Australia/247640191916879
What pensforkids is:
* An organisation that remains free of any political or religious influence, motives of economical or any interests other than helping kids in Africa to get an education.
* Run entirely by unpaid volunteers.
* An organisation that needs your pens - either new or used (but still working please), or your donations to help get pens to the kids that need them.
You may ask why we have adverts on this site; easy - the revenue we receive goes towards site hosting and shipping pens! Clicking on an advert helps us, and costs you nothing. Alternatively if you would like to make a donation, we've made that easy for you below as well!
