Books For Africa
A simple name for an organization with a simple mission. We collect, sort, ship, and distribute books to students of all ages in Africa. Our goal: to end the book famine in Africa.
Books For Africa remains the largest shipper of donated text and library books to the African continent, shipping over 39 million books to 49 different countries since 1988. Over the past 12 months we have shipped three million books, 93 computers and e-readers containing 223,000 digital books, as well as 10 new law and human rights libraries to 18 African countries. More than $2.5 million was raised last year to ship the books to the students of Africa.
To learn more about groups currently fundraising to ship books to specific African countries, view the Projects page.
To learn more about the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative, Agricultural Libraries, or French Books view the Special Initiatives page
Contact Books for AfricaBooks For Africa is a simple idea, but its impact is transformative. For us, literacy is quite simply the bridge from misery to hope.
— Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary-General
EIN 41-1627391
The Latest
New Library in Wekin, Ethiopia Has Minnesota Roots
Minnesotans Wyn and Sunny Ray share a deep connection with Ethiopia; in 2008, they began working with the remote village of Wekin, Ethiopia. An immediate area of concern for the village was the school “library,” which contained only about 50 English books - in 2013, the Wekin Book Project was born to help put high-quality books and learning materials in the hands of the students and local…
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Books For Africa Celebrates International Literacy Day With Top Charity Navigator Rating
Books For Africa has received Charity Navigator’s 4-star rating for the sixth consecutive year, the highest possible rating. Charity Navigator is the country’s premiere charity evaluator and rates charities on sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency. The perfect Charity Navigator rating comes just before Books For Africa and other groups around the world are…
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Merck Partnership Delivers Digital Medical Resources To African Medical Practitioners
Books For Africa has partnered with Merck & Co. to donate 52 tablets loaded with the new Merck Medical Manual mobile app! These tablets were delivered by fellows from the State Department's Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI), and will provide valuable resources to medical practitioners across the African continent.
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Container Departs for Kofi Annan Institue for Conflict Transformation in LIberia
Leaving the Books For Africa warehouse in Atlanta last week was a 40-foot sea container holding 22,000 books departing for the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation Project in Monrovia, Liberia. In addition to large quantities of books on general topics, a law/human rights library was provided courtesy of Thomson Reuters and the BFA Law & Democracy Initiative.
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2017 Books For Africa Kilimanjaro Society Reception and Poolside Reggae Concert
The annual reception honoring Books For Africa’s Kilimanjaro Society donors was held July 27 at the University Club of St. Paul. It was also attended by 25 young African leaders in residency at the Humphrey Institute of the University of Minnesota and featured a poolside concert with local reggae band Ipso Facto!
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