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Tom Shine covers congressional politics for ABC News.
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Her Name's Not Oprah Winfrey, It's Ashley Speyer
June 30, 2008 7:32 AM
Philip Rucker wrote an inspirational story in Sunday's WASHINGTON POST about a very remarkable teenager from Washington, D.C., Ashley Speyer. Last year Ashley went to the small village of Moivaro in Tanzania and volunteered in a school there. It was a one-room elementary school that had no electricity, no running water or other plumbing, no desks, a chalk board with no chalk and a dirt floor.
According to Rucker, Ashley was so upset by what she saw that when she returned to Washington and her school, Sidwell Friends, she found a lawyer who helped her establish a nonprofit organization and raised $25,000 to build a new school in that very poor village in Tanzania. Because labor and building materials are so cheap there, $25,000 was enough to hire a local builder to do the work that Rucker says Ashley monitored through e-mailed photographs.
A few days ago, Ashley and her mother went back to Moivaro to paint the walls, set up the desks and turn the building into a school for 75 students. She told the Post, "WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR A NOMINAL AMOUNT AND ONCE YOU'RE GRANTED AN OPPORTUNITY YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO SEE IT THROUGH."
Oprah Winfrey recently opened a school for girls in South Africa. It cost a lot more, and grabbed worldwide headlines. But Ashley's efforts, told in a story on the front page of the Metro section of the Washington Post, mean just as much to those 75 kids who now have a school thanks to her determination and the generosity of those who helped her.
June 30, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)
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I am very humble by her good deeds.
Posted by: krist | Jun 30, 2008 8:39:40 AM
Great job Ashley! Way to make America proud!
Posted by: Hippemom | Jun 30, 2008 12:00:19 PM
I hope that many will follow suit. It is really amazing to see people who like helping the poor, especially in Africa.
She has done a remarkable job.
Posted by: I.A.T smith | Jun 30, 2008 12:58:45 PM
I am in Tanzania now and I can't tell you how happy I was to read this blog! I have seen the completed school for the first time and have been working hard to open the school for all of the children. There will be a village celebration next Friday for the opening of the school.
Posted by: Ashley Speyer | Jul 16, 2008 9:33:31 AM
Hey Ashley,
Me and my friend are extremely interested in the project you created. We attend a school in Florida and in a leadership prgram. We want to know how you raised the 25,000 because we would like to do the same. Please Comment Back.
Posted by: Chloe | Sep 29, 2008 1:05:27 PM
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