ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½

Every day is all about books at ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½. So for UNESCO’s World Book Day (April 23, 2014), we are sending 33,000 books to Zimbabwe and Nigeria! Yup. 33,000 books left our warehouse bright and early this morning. Soon, they will be in the hands of students in Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

A new business model is emerging in ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½ and it has the potential to benefit millions of underserved people around the far reaches of the continent. The model embraces corporate social responsibility and involves business leaders giving back to the places where they built and acquired their wealth. These private benefactors are now also collaborating with NGOs and governments to advance core development needs and goals. No better example exists than Sir Emeka Offor, a leading Nigerian businessman, who since 2011 has donated $950,000 to ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½ (BFA) to ship 1.7 million books and computers valued at over $18 million to children and students in 19 ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½n countries, including his own home country Nigeria.

Thanks to the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½ has been filling a lot of empty library shelves across ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½. Last year, the Foundation started an incredible project to ship one million books to ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½ by the end of 2014. These books will go to ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½ partners in 25 ÌÇÐÄvlgo´«Ã½n countries. One such organization is the Better Communities Association in Banjul, The Gambia. BCA received a container of 22,000 books thanks to the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation in March 2014. A ceremony was held to celebrate the book delivery. These books will be distributed to 16 different schools in the greater Banjul area, including the University of Gambia.