Books For Africa

Children and adults in Africa are hungry to read, hungry to learn. Yet a severe book “famine” often stands in their way. Books For Africa aims to end that famine.

Since its founding in 1988, Books For Africa has shipped more than 20.5 million textbooks and library books to 45 African countries. In 2008 alone, we shipped 176 containers of books — 2.7 million books — valued at over $20 million.

Books For Africa will ship to any location in Africa where a sponsor is ready to receive and distribute books. Among our success stories:

• In 2008, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees distributed four shipments of books to refugees in Chad who had fled the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region. The English language is seen as a “road to freedom” by refugees from Darfur, and books are highly prized.
• Peace Corps volunteers Tim and Anne Reneau-Major worked with us to send a container of textbooks to western Uganda. Their efforts resulted in books reaching 26 schools and one orphan center — getting books in the hands of more than 16,500 students.
• 25,000 books were recently sent to 32 schools in northwest Cameroon. A school official reports that “the library is now quite busy” and “the quality of the books is wonderful.”

“Books For Africa is a simple idea, but its impact is transformative,” says Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary-General. “For us, literacy is quite simply the bridge from misery to hope.”