Book Distribution in Zimbabwe Services Critical Rural Area

Books For Africa recently delivered a shipment of books to Zimbabwe in partnership with the Rava Trust and the Phumulani Minnesota African Women Against Violence organization. The shipment was generously sponsored by BetterWorld Trust, Daniel McNaughton, the Rava Trust, and many other supporters of Phumulani and Rava Trust. Both organizations aim to fill a need for books among populations and schools without the resources to purchase them. Rava Trust began this work back in 2016, and their work bringing books to communities has been complemented by authorities in Zimbabwe. The Phumulani Executive Director, Comfort Dondo, is an author and long-time friend of BFA, and is committed to expanding access to education for kids in Africa. 

We were happy to learn from Phumulani Administration Manager Ruth Dengwani that they recently hosted their first book handover event, at a school in Mutema, a village in Buhera, Manicaland Province, in eastern Zimbabwe. The school was established in 2021, and currently serves 200 pupils from kindergarten through grade four. Before it was founded, children had to walk 4 to 10 kilometers to access the nearest schools, making this initiative a vital step in improving access to education. 

Ruth Dengwani emphasized the importance of supporting education for children, saying, “After all, children are the future.”

These books help children improve their English language skills, and the shipment also included solar lights from Solar Buddy to help the children read after nightfall.

You can see more of Phumulani’s distribution in Mutema village in the video below, which includes speaker of Shona with English subtitles, or at Books For Africa’s youtube page.