News

A new business model is emerging in Africa and it has the potential to benefit millions of underserved people around the far reaches of the continent. The model embraces corporate social responsibility and involves business leaders giving back to the places where they built and acquired their wealth. These private benefactors are now also collaborating with NGOs and governments to advance core development needs and goals. No better example exists than Sir Emeka Offor, a leading Nigerian businessman, who since 2011 has donated $950,000 to Books For Africa (BFA) to ship 1.7 million books and computers valued at over $18 million to children and students in 19 African countries, including his own home country Nigeria.

Thanks to the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, Books For Africa has been filling a lot of empty library shelves across Africa. Last year, the Foundation started an incredible project to ship one million books to Africa by the end of 2014. These books will go to Books For Africa partners in 25 African countries. One such organization is the Better Communities Association in Banjul, The Gambia. BCA received a container of 22,000 books thanks to the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation in March 2014. A ceremony was held to celebrate the book delivery. These books will be distributed to 16 different schools in the greater Banjul area, including the University of Gambia.

Help us welcome our very special guest, Her Excellency Liberata Mulamula, Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United States.

The Nedjo Public Library stays so full of eager students that the staff had to order more chairs after its first month of operation! Just 30 days after opening, a total of 3,926 people had used the library, with 500-600 people visiting each day. It is the first library in Nedjo Town, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Many of these students had never held a book on their own. Now, they have a beautiful new library filled with books to read.

Books For Africa could not achieve all that we do without the help of our friends and supporters around the globe. One such group, Course Hero, challenges college students to share the gift of education with fellow students at home and abroad. Course Hero student leaders have helped us put more than 100,000 books in the hands of students in the small West African country of The Gambia. Learn more about Course Hero in this guest post from Taylor Stanton, Campus Manger with the Campus Operations Team.

Books For Africa Executive Director, Patrick Plonski, has been making quite the trek this past month. He met with partners and checked up on schools and libraries that have received Books For Africa books in South Africa and Zambia. Some of the partners Patrick has met with include local Rotary groups in Cape Town, South Africa, Breadline Africa, and Family Legacy Missions, as well as other connections through our friends at Better World Books.