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"Another school shooting has just occurred in a small town outside … " I shuddered as I listened to the evening news. Another negative story about young people, I thought to myself.

I was a public school teacher who knew better. My sixth-graders at South Decatur Elementary near Westport, Indiana, were involved in a project that demanded them to give unselfishly to someone they didn't even know.

On a visit to my daughter Debbie's home in the summer of 1999, two of my granddaughters, Carol, 13, and Ellie, 10, couldn't wait to tell me about their friend, Joanna Finley*.

Joanna was born in the Philippines and was adopted by the Finleys when she was five. The Finleys had two sons of their own, and had adopted three special needs children from other countries.

Joanna, now 12, has one artificial eye and has had a cornea transplant in the other that allows her to see shadows and color. Joanna is legally blind.

But that hasn't stopped Joanna from roller skating and riding a bike. She excels in her homeschool classes with her five siblings. And she's an avid reader of books in Braille.

But when Joanna heard her sighted friends talking about the books they'd read, she felt left out. Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, and the Dear America series were just a few of the books on her list of "want to read." Joanna is able to receive books in Braille and on tape through the Library of Congress Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. But there are drawbacks.

Sometimes the wait for a particular book is long and unpredictable, or the book Joanna requests is not available, especially Christian literature. There are three or four Christian lending libraries for the blind in the United States, but they have limited choices, too.

And the books have to be returned. There were certain classics Joanna wanted to own. When her mother called one Braille institute to purchase a copy of Little Women in Braille, she realized this was going to be a high-priced venture—one book cost $200!

When my granddaughters mentioned they were going to read a book on tape for Joanna, I had an idea. Just maybe my students would be interested in helping Joanna.

I told them about Joanna. If they decided to help, I wanted them to come up with the solution and take charge. I didn't want this to be another thing I assigned them.

Hands immediately went up. "We could read books on tape for Joanna," several students said. "Then she'd have several to choose from."

"Thank you, Lord," I breathed prayerfully, "for blessing me with such a great group of students."

Sixteen out of 25 students—both boys and girls—signed up to read for Joanna. To help them have a better understanding of a blind person's world, we studied the life of Helen Keller, learned about the Braille alphabet, and had a "hands-on" experience with a Braille magazine.

The audio tapes were donated and given to the participants. I only had one requirement—that I approve their choice of books. The students mainly chose classics; I took part in the project, too, reading Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. If anyone didn't have a tape recorder at home, I provided one for them at school. Everyone understood this was a non-school project—they either read during recess, or free time, or at home.

Not all of the volunteers were top readers, but they were enthusiastic. There was a selfless purpose in their reading. As I listened to parts of their tapes, I noticed how their oral skills were improving—they were learning to read expressively.

One student read all of her book without pushing the record button; I didn't have the heart to tell her. Another student had accidentally taped some music over her reading. But in the end, we completed 14 books.

When Joanna's mother sent a thank you by e-mail, I passed it around to the students. Her mother said when the package arrived, Joanna disappeared into her bedroom for hours listening to Heidi, Swiss Family Robinson, The Secret Garden, Lucy's Wish, and others. Our "Read for Joanna" group celebrated with a pizza party, but I could see their real reward was the satisfaction of helping another person.

Before the end of the year, we received a videotape of Joanna, who told the group how much she enjoyed her gift.

Her favorite book was Lucy's Wish, a story about an orphan. Being an orphan herself, Joanna could identify with Lucy's feelings.

On the video, Joanna read her new friends a story about Helen Keller in Braille, and showed one book of her Braille Bible. Her mother explained that if each book is stacked one on top of each other, Joanna's Braille Bible is as tall as she is! Joanna calls her pastor before each Sunday to find out which book of the Bible she needs to bring to church.

Even though my students had some knowledge of Braille before beginning the project, it was exciting for them to see first-hand how Braille is actually read. Joanna had been taught Braille using a six cup muffin tin and ping pong balls. Only 10 percent of blind individuals have the ability to read Braille at all, and most blind students don't read fluently until age 12. At 11 years of age, Joanna had completed Little Women in Braille. The highlight of the video was watching Joanna type out sentences on her Braille typewriter.

Joanna's family is in the process of adopting a three-year-old blind girl from India. With her skills Joanna will be able to be a big help.

Throughout the project I saw my students' reading improve, and their desire to select quality books grow. But most of all, I saw them mature as they put another person's need before their own.

*Joanna's name has been changed.

A Christian Reader original article.

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