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MoneyGram, a global provider of innovative money transfer services, and Pencils of Promise today celebrated the success of a literacy project that gifted 900 students in Ghana with e-readers, each loaded with 100 e-books. The MoneyGram Foundation was honored to co-sponsor with Pencils of Promise the roll-out of the e-reader program in four new communities in the Volta Region of Ghana.

“In a country where more than 33 percent of the population is illiterate, the gift of 100 books within a single device can change a child’s life and redirect the course of an entire community,” said Jacqueline Lowe, MoneyGram Foundation’s president. “The MoneyGram Foundation is honored to support educational resources and access for communities around the world who rely on MoneyGram’s money transfer services. We are proud to work with Pencils of Promise to provide hundreds of children in Ghana with access to education for years to come.”

In 2015, four community schools in northern Ghana received 400 brand new e-readers loaded with 40,000 e-books. In total, Pencils of Promise distributed e-readers to 900 students in grades 3-6 for use in their classrooms and at home. Most classrooms and homes in Ghana contain few or no quality books. This grant is enabling hundreds of households in Ghana to access the transformative power of books through just one e-reader.

The MoneyGram Foundation is a private, grant-making foundation whose sole aim is to provide access to quality education for children around the world. Pencils of Promise is a leading U.S. non-profit organization, empowering students in Africa, Latin America and South Asia through local programs focused on providing educational services to children.