First Tanzanian Library Run by Basketball Players, Ukonga

Ukonga library is located on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam near the Julius Nyerere International airport. It is run by members of the Ukonga Basketball academy and lies close to Juhudi primary school and Ukonga primary school. The library is small in size and has just a limited number of books but the location it is in, hidden in a green yard close to the dorms of the basketball academy and basketball court has the potential to become a yard for kids to play in or a place where people can sit outdoors in the shade of the trees have a drink or two and in the same time have the option to explore what the library has to offer. In that sense, the library in my eyes has a space to grow and extend its services, being a meeting place for the local community taken care of by the members of the basketball academy. The basketball community is very welcoming and has an important role in promoting a sport that has a minority position in comparison to football with a much bigger tradition and popularity in Tanzania.

Check the library in one of our videos.

- Míša, BF Uganda and Tanzania Ambassador

We are about to start a new project in this community - construction and rennovation of an extra room to be used by volunteers or students in the area. Would you like to be part of the team? Let us know, spend summer in Tanzania and have an amazing experience of getting to know new cultures and doing something with a positive impact at the same time!