In all of the countries where we work more than half the population earns less than a dollar a day making books a luxury few can afford; communities rely almost entirely on libraries for access to books and reading materials.
Extending libraries and the services they provide is central to building literacy which is why we work with libraries in schools, refugee camps, universities and communities. Libraries like Medefera Community Library in Eritrea and Foundation Petit Dan and Sarah Orphanage LIbrary in Cameroon are essential services in their communities:
In the town of Mendefera, the library provides a focal point for local young people. Children attend the oversubscribed local school in two shifts, and often use the library while they wait for their turn. Adults can find information on a wide range of subjects including vocational books, business and education, health books and popular novels. Book Aid International provides over 20,000 books a year to libraries in Eritrea, which go some way to meeting the demand:
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Mendefera library |
"The main source of Books in Eritrea honestly is Book Aid International .. and almost every library in Eritrea has a collection of Book Aid International books as its core." British council, Eritrea
Foundation Petit Dan and Sarah Orphanage is based in Soa, Cameroon and is home to 40 children of all ages. The library has been receiving donations from Book Aid International since 2003 and serves not only the school but also the community as whole.
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Pupils at Petit Dan |
“Our library has been so useful for the children in our school, but also for people in the surrounding area. We have many children’s books but you have given us especially good books in higher education topics such as linguistics and biology. We have been able to help many of the local university students with their studies by opening up the library for their use. This has given us the opportunity to reach out to many more people. We thank you very very much for this programme to support libraries like ours, because it is so widely used” Ms. Jeanne Veronique Atsam, Director