Eva Lewis, Camden Education Association Delegate presents NEA President Dennis Van Roekel with a gift from students in Liberia. Photo: Rick Runion

The last thing Eva Lewis expected to see at the 2009 RA in San Diego –her first as a New Jersey delegate – was video footage of her home country of Liberia. But there it was, a segment of an opening day video reviewing NEA’s international projects. In the wake of the civil war that ended in 2003, NEA is working with Educational International to rebuild the Liberian teachers union and the education system.

“I had no idea NEA was so involved around the world and in Liberia!” recalls Lewis, a special education teacher at Forest Hills Elementary School in Camden City. “It was wonderful, but it was very emotional for me as well. Schools in Liberia need so much help. They have very little supplies, especially good school books.”

Lewis had extra books to spare. Lots of extra books – as in about 500,000. For about ten years, she had been working with schools around the district in collecting old books that otherwise were on their way to being tossed out or recycled, with the vague hope of somehow sending them to her hometown in Liberia, Towehtown.

Lewis collected 20,000 by herself and, as word-of-mouth of her efforts spread, the Camden City district agreed was to donate another 450,000 books. On top of that, the New Jersey Education Association offered 1000 book bags.

“In my heart I was hoping to somehow get these supplies over to Liberia,” Eva said. “But I really didn’t know how and obviously didn’t have the money to ship them.”

Heading home after the 2009 RA, Lewis saw NEA President Dennis Van Roekel at the San Diego airport and mustered up the courage to approach him.

“I said to myself ‘This is your time, Eva!’ NEA might be able to help.”

Moved by her story, Van Roekel asked Lewis to immediately follow-up with him when she got home. After putting her in touch with NEA’s International Relations Department, Van Roekel and NEA Executive Director John Wilson offered to contribute $7500 to ship books and book-bags to Liberia.

A few months ago, Lewis travelled home for the first time in 35 years to help administer the distribution of the supplies in schools throughout Towehtown.

“It was very emotional and the children couldn’t have been happier and it was all thanks to the NEA, NJEA and Camden City schools.”

Lewis is attending this year’s RA and was able to thank Van Roekel  personally, presenting him with a gift – two beautiful wooden statues, carved by Towehtown students.

Lewis isn’t slowing down. She’s already collected an additional 7,000 books and is now looking for donations of shoes, also in short supply in many Liberian schools.

“There is so much more work to be done,” Eva said. “I want students in my hometown to have better schools than I had when I was growing up.”