How it works

One Book, One Library At A Time

We support communities by helping them establish libraries that can be used as educational and community centers. Most importantly, we do this upon a call from the community : we do not choose the communities, they choose us.

We support the community in the refurbishment of the space they chose for their library, using recycled or new materials, and providing second-hand books shipped from our collection points around the world. Wherever possible we collaborate with local and international NGOs to tackle challenges the community wants to address with their library. We then work to tailor the library to those needs.

Each of our libraries is therefore one of a kind: in Tanzania, you’ll find a library full of avid bee-keepers or a library focused on educating teenage girls about sensitive topics while supporting them to play league Basketball. In Kenya, our library supports boys from the streets, allowing them to both play soccer and study with their coach-turned-teacher. In Uganda, our library is in the midst of an eco-village and helps educate locals on plastic waste, over-fishing and permaculture.

Our libraries are in schools, foster homes, people’s homes, remote villages, as well as overpopulated slums. Most of them are situated in rural areas or at the outskirts of important urban settlements, thus offering a safe space to deliver classes and educational activities, something that is crucial in promoting fair education. It is the community that owns the library, manages it and takes care of it, guaranteeing that precious life and learning skills will be passed on to the next generations to come.