Books for Africa, which has sent more than 40 million books to the continent including many from a warehouse in Atlanta, has landed a partnership with the African Union, the multilateral body bringing together 55 nations.
The Minnesota-based organization will ship an inaugural container filled with 22,000 books to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January to coincide with the AU’s annual summit. It will be followed by subsequent contributions each year, according to an AU news release.
The shipment, worth an estimated $270,000, is part of an AU drive to promote literacy throughout the African continent. The books will be housed at the AU library, which is used by students, researchers and academics.
The African Union’s permanent representative to the United States, Arikana Chihombori-Quao, praised BFA at a gala dinner celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
“Education through reading is pivotal to the key goals of the AU’s Agenda 2063 because it impacts all aspects of human endeavour. People in Africa, mostly the youth, will continue to benefit tremendously from the thousands of hard copy and audio books donated by Books for Africa, to whom we are very grateful,” Dr. Chihombori-Quao said in a statement.
And it’s not just physical books: Last year alone, BFA sent 123 e-readers and computers to Africa containing 283,000 digital books. That could be key in a continent with a young population that is fast adopting mobile technologies.
Learn more at www.booksforafrica.org.