AN Okehampton College book drive has smashed all expectations, with a donation of more than 2,000 books for children in India. In April, college students were challenged to donate old children's books that they no longer needed to a slum school in Delhi. The initial target for the project was to send 1,500 books to the school, but by the end of the book drive, students had donated 2,216 books to the children of Delhi. Project leader for Words for Life: India, Philippe Messer, said that the students' generosity vastly surpassed all expectations and the project now intends to send the books this summer. He said: 'The students have completely blown me away. 'We were only expecting around 1,000 books to come in yet the project seemed to have them all fired up and keen to make a difference. 'We did a similar project last year for a primary school in Malawi. At the time, we raised 1,324 books and filmed the whole process of the books arriving in Malawi for our kids to see. 'Seeing that their books made it to the school and the excitement that their children felt really struck a chord with our students. I cannot wait to show our students in September how their 2,216 books have helped transform another community in India.' The slum school is a small community-based project that takes orphaned children and abandoned women off the streets in order to teach them how to read and write. Their ultimate goal is to take these street children and women and provide them with the skills to find work and be self-sufficient. The next step for the Words for Life: India team is to raise the necessary funds to ship the books to India. The team is aiming to host a non-uniform day at the college and attend a boot fair in Exeter to help raise the £1,500 needed. Once again, the whole project will be filmed and turned into a short film for the students as well the local Okehampton community to see the difference they have made. If you feel you could help out with the Words for Life: India project or would like to make a donation, please don't hesitate to contact the project leader, Philippe Messer, at Okehampton College on 01837 650910 or by e-mail at [email protected]">[email protected]