We are always looking for a good book to read that will suck you in from the first page. “I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed two Lives” hooked us in from the start.
This non-fiction book is about Caitlin who is 12 years old and lives in Pennsylvania living an upper middle class life. Martin is 14 years old and lives in Zimbabwe with a family struggling to survive. They met via a school pen pal project which changes both of their lives forever. They develop a friendship and a dependency on each other that was created out of pure luck. Caitlin and Martin’s pen pal friendship spans over 6 years in the book.
Caitlin begins her middle school years as a typical American teenager worried about friends and material items. On the other hand, Martin is working so hard to succeed in school and to pay for his tuition that his parents cannot afford. Initially Caitlin does not realize that Martin’s family is poor but eventually she does. She begins to mail to him babysitting money that she earned which saves his family from starvations, illness, and helps pay Martin’s school tuition. Their friendship goes beyond what anyone can imagine and so if you are looking for an inspiring and eye opening book, here you have it!
Since we were so inspired by this book, we reached out to Martin Ganda to thank him for writing the novel. Martin was so gracious and kind that he offered to do Facetime with us. Being the inspiring person he is, we were so touch by his offer, we couldn’t refuse it! Martin has inspired us to be determined, hard working, resilient, and to give back to the less fortunate.
For Girl Scouts World Thinking Day, we presented a poster on Zimbabwe because we were so inspired by Martin’s ambition and perseverance to get an education. We wanted our troop to hear about his story and to learn about this small African country.
