We are working in partnership with the British Council in Palestine to provide access to appropriate books for disadvantaged communities in the West Bank and Gaza. The British Council play a key role in programme logistics, such as the clearance and distribution of consignments, due to the restrictions on movement for local organisations.
Organisations working with children, women, and in health; and the universities and public libraries all represent our current priorities for support.
Founded in 1989, the Tamer Institute for Community Education is a key children's organisation in Palestine and a significant partner for Book Aid International. They distribute our books to children's libraries in the West Bank and Gaza and run reading promotion and publishing activities for children, especially for the disabled. The National Reading Campaign which aims to encourage reading and writing among children and young people is the core of Tamer Institute's activities. The goal of the National Reading Campaign is to enhance and develop children's knowledge and critical thinking.
In 2009, the Tamer Institute was given the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, worth 25,000 Euros, for having fostered a love of reading and creativity among children and young adults for twenty years.
Regular disruption to education during prolonged periods of curfew and closure, as well as the daily violence on the streets, has increased rather than diminished the need for places where children in particular can study, play and learn. The libraries we support provide free access to books which are a luxury for many Palestinian families.
We all share a similar philosophy with Book Aid International in believing that books provide people with the opportunity to shape their own destiny through bringing new knowledge, new perspectives and new understanding - thereby enhancing their imagination and knowledge and enabling their mental and spiritual growth.
Letter to Book Aid International signed by Tamer Institute, five universities, UNWRA Libraries, and British Council
Cameroon | Eritrea | Ethiopia | Kenya | Malawi | Namibia | Palestine | Somalia | Sri Lanka | Sudan | Tanzania | Uganda | Zambia | Zimbabwe