Community comes together to donate,

Help pack and load shipping container

An annual shipping container of donations from the community left Hinsdale last week and is headed to Tanzania, Africa to the O’Brien School for the Maasai.

Hinsdale residents Kellie O’Brien and her daughter Heather started the school six years ago and now it is educating 320 students grades K through 7. Each year, a shipping container is filled with donated items that the school needs and is shipped to Tanzania.

“This was all due to your good hearts. So many showed up to pack and sort even in the rain. We had Brownie troops, football players, families, students from Monroe, Kingswood and Walker Schools. We could not have done this without your help,” said Kellie O’Brien, founder of the O’Brien School. “My brother Norm joins me in asking God to bless you and your families abundantly.”

Kellie O’Brien and her brother Norm will meet the container when it arrives at its destination in late January/early February and help distribute its contents.

Among the many items donated from the community and packed into the container:

• 10,000 pencils
• 15,000 lb. of food
• 1,500 pair of shoes
• School supplies (desks, paper, etc)
• Furniture for the new dining hall under construction
• Beautiful items for the church
• Many bikes (even a motor bike!)
• Birthing kits
• Special care packages for the widows in the village

For more information about the O’Brien School for the Maasai phone (630) 654-2291 or visit www.obrienschool.org.