Hand Delivered Hope
Authors: Jimi Cook with Cristi Cook and Grant Venable ISBN: 9781647731946 Paperback , 188 pages Trilogy Publishing BeTheChangeVolunteers.org Media Inquiries for a copy of the book or to schedule an interview contact: E: [email protected] or [email protected] P: 573-823-4120 |
Heartwarming, Inspirational Book
Calls Readers to "Be The Change" Did you know that more than 260 million children around the world have no access to education? Did you know that in most developing countries, school is not free? Students must pay for tuition, uniforms, books, lunches, and their teachers’ salaries, meaning that for millions of children, especially girls, a formal education is never going to be an option. “The most amazing and surprising thing about my journey is that it all started with two words from a bunch of desperately poor orphans in a no-name village in Africa: ‘Books! Tuition!’,” said Dr. Jimi Cook, a professor and distinguished chair in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Missouri, as well as the co-founder of Be The Change Volunteers (BTCV), a development aid organization whose focus is improving opportunities for education worldwide. In Hand Delivered Hope, Dr. Cook shares compelling stories from the first ten years of BTCV’s work with regular volunteers just like you serving alongside people in remote communities across the globe. The stories include, restoring a genocide ruined Rwandan school for a lost generation of learners, building a floating school on a huge lake in Cambodia, navigating corruption in Kenya, rebuilding relationships in India and many, many other engaging accounts of resilience and hope. Through his work and the work of BTCV, Dr. Cook received a different kind of education than his 26 years of formal schooling gave him; he experienced a spiritual awakening, and was granted the means to empower “the least of these,” while his own life was forever changed by the stories he learned, and now shares with readers in this memoire. “This book is all about that kind of education—learning about true joy, gaining wisdom from the young and the old, changing sympathy into empathy, and finding out what the most important, enduring, and meaningful things in life are—all from amazing people scattered throughout forgotten villages around the world,” said Dr. Cook. “I believe their stories will inspire you, change you, and educate you in ways that you may not have thought possible—just like they did for me—and that you will use your new education to be the change that you want to see in our world.” |
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About The Author
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Jimi Cook
Co-founder, Board Chairman, Be The Change Volunteers Jimi and his wife, Cristi Cook, founded Be The Change Volunteers (BTCV) in 2007 during a supposed “one time” school building project in Rwanda (BTCV #001). The organization has grown beyond their wildest dreams, and more importantly, has held true to its mission of empowering communities through sustainable education-focused development aid projects. Jimi is a professor and distinguished chair in orthopedic surgery at the University of Missouri. He comes from a long line of teachers in his immediate and extended family. He has over 250 scientific publications, 28 patents, numerous awards and he gives lectures around the world. |
Jimi working with a local mason in Uganda
Jimi and Cristi Cook Co-Founders BTCV
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Be The Change Volunteers is a development aid non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of improving education opportunities worldwide. The mission is accomplished by partnering with local communities to address infrastructure, equipping, and training needs. BTCV operates primarily in under developed countries serving remote communities with a demonstrated need for educational facilities and resources. BTCV provides on-site, in-depth needs analysis to help identify long term solutions to be completed in phases over time. Teams of generous self-funded volunteers we call “Changers” travel to partner communities to participate in education-focused service projects with unique and profound cultural exchange opportunities.
- Provided education-focused development aid to over 50 projects in 17 countries
- Over 7,000 students served
- Across all partners female enrollment has reached a 50% average
- Over 100 scholarships provided
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