Book Aid International has worked in Malawi since the late 1960s. Our main partner has been the Malawi National Library Service (MNLS), who receive, clear, sort and distribute all the books and materials we send. As well as supporting the Malawi National Library Service network, we also send books to community libraries, universities, colleges, schools and NGOs.
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Lilongwe Old Town Library |
The Malawi National Library Service has eleven branch libraries throughout the country who receive our books, with plans to open more in the near future. MNLS also supports over 1,000 smaller community library centres, which are located in schools, community centres and orphanages. Community library centres are designed to ensure that people in both rural and urban areas have access to the information and reading materials they need for education, work and leisure. The centres are the responsibility of the community, but Malawi National Library Service supports them with books and training.
The Malawi National Library Service distributes Book Aid International stock to schools, teacher development centres, nursing colleges, teaching colleges, universities, NGOs and legal organisations. Literature and educational materials have been the mainstay of most shipments, but we also provide a wide range of material in subjects such as nursing, medicine, agriculture, business and law to universities and colleges. The massive increase in primary school attendance since the millennium has also seen an increase in the need for primary texts and teacher training material.
Book Aid International has worked closely with Malawi National Library Service to promote educational opportunities to all parts of society. Since 2005 we have been running a literacy project for rural women, Women's Reading Clubs. This project runs in MNLS branch libraries and community libraries, making use of literacy workshops and using donated books from Book Aid International and materials in local languages purchased in Malawi. We have also run reading promotion training for MNLS staff, encouraging greater outreach and publicity work for libraries. The library service runs a variety of services including a Mother and Child programme, a national HIV/AIDS information project and various services for the blind.
We regularly hear back from our partners about how vital the donations have been to their work:
"The books have already been identified by different lecturers as extremely useful for their courses. Some lecturers have already reserved some titles for their courses. This signifies how valuable these books are to Mzuzu University programmes."
Professor Joseph Uta, Mzuzu University
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