Funds Raised for Global Literacy:
$10,184,799.20
Books Re-Used or Recycled:
63,271,794

Small Effort, Big Effect

Posted by admin on 09.22.2008 at 3:49 pm

I met Mulbah earlier this year in his hometown.  He is a Liberian college student in his early twenties who has spent most of his life coping with the twenty years of civil war that ravaged his country through 2003.  Mulbah is a persistent guy.  Though we initially spoke for less than ten minutes, as I was rushing off to our next meeting, Mulbah made sure to collect my contact information so that he could keep the conversation going.  Before I had even made it back home to California I had this e-mail waiting for me [ed.: misspellings kept, sic neglected]:

Dear Justin,
I am very happy to extend my sincere greeting to you, including your family members, love one, friends and the entire Better World .
Sir, you give me your call card including you E-mail address at the ALPP/ Creative Associates International Inc. office which is commonly called Bong LRC during your trip to Africa for Vision In Action, Million Books Match for Africa.
Justin, you and are got into conversation but we did not end due to your busy schedule, that is I graduated since 2004-2005, and I started my Freshman Courses at the Cuttington University, Suakoko, Bong County but due to lack of finance I drop from school and my parents don’t have money to sponser my education. […]

It’s Mulbah [redacted].

He wanted to know if I could help him find a scholarship to continue his study of economics at Cuttington University – one of the schools that has received books through the partnership between Better World Books, USAID, and Vision In Action.  Though I did not have the personal means to help him pay for college I wanted to find a way to help him continue his education.

Read more…

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Bring a Book to the Sullivan Summit!

Posted by David on 05.22.2008 at 10:06 am

Hello everyone.  Take a look at the attached .pdf from Books for Africa.

Sullivan Summit.pdf (911.48 KB)

This flyer was sent to all 500+ delegates attending the “Sullivan Summit” in Arusha, Tanzania.  Note that Better World Books, through the Better World Books Fund within Books For Africa, is sponsoring the shipment and that the books will be distributed by the Poverty Eradication Network (PEN) in Tanzania. Natasha Harris, Niko Tomlinson, Mary Murphy, Jaime Knabet, Dustin Holland and myself visited the PEN folks in the summer of 2006 and have continued to stay in touch with them (Mungwe and Andrea).  They do fantastic work (based in Dodoma, the national capital of Tanzania) throughout the country.

To find out more about the Sullivan Summit VIII, go to www.thesullivanfoundation.org/summit/.

Have your say » | Tagged Dispatches from the Green House, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Love from the Red and Black

Posted by admin on 05.05.2008 at 2:04 pm


(the author of this great article, Amanda Brouillette)

Over at the Red and Black, the student newspaper of the University of Georgia wrote an article that simultaneously talks about how sweet we are:

Better World Books has given more than 864,600 books directly to Books for Africa, as well as the National Center for Family Literacy, which helps here in the United States.  They’ve also raised $900,000 of unrestricted funding for Books for Africa, www.booksforafrica.org, since May of 2002.

A warehouse full of books at the Books for Africa headquarters in Minnesota is useless without the incredible amount of funding necessary to ship the books all the way to Sudan, Darfur or Ethiopia. This unrestricted funding ships the books across the Atlantic, and ensures their transportation inland to different countries and villages.

It’s hard to comprehend being forced to share my only book with six other students, but Fresew said that is the case, even in Africa’s private schools.

while talking about what the local Bulldogs can do to help:

As you finish your finals, get closure on that ridiculously hard class – take a walk to one of the bright green boxes that says, “Book Drives for Better Lives,” and let the bane of your semester save someone else’s life. I promise you, it’s worth it.

Check out the full article here.

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Show Us Some Love: Republic of Guinea Edition

Posted by admin on 02.21.2008 at 9:40 am

As the resident evangelist and blogger I take whatever opportunity I can to talk about the great things that we do here at Better World Books.  Considering the amount of positive emails I get, this is a relatively easy task, however sometimes, it gets even easier.  Check out these letters from the Republic of Guinea written to Books for Africa from schools and missions expressing their gratitude.  Through our book donations and funding and support, Better World Books is proud to be a part of a group that creates impact like this:

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Cuttington University in Liberia: Starting from Zero

Posted by Andy on 02.18.2008 at 9:38 pm

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Liberia with others from Better World Books and Books for Africa . Liberia is a small country in West Africa that has been through horrific civil war for 14 years before finally re-establishing peace in 2003. Needless to say, just about every institution in the country is starting from zero, slowly building back up, and that includes their universities.

Cuttington University (map) is a rural 4-year university in Liberia . It is the oldest coed 4-year university in West Africa , considered by many to be the country’s most prestigious institution of higher education. It also happens to be quite close to the farm of Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia who is currently on trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague .

So here’s what I mean about “starting from zero”… four years ago, this prestigious university had no roofs on its buildings and no books in its library. The campus was ransacked during the wars… most of the books in the library were burned as fuel for fires.

Our group was able to meet with leaders from the university and hear their needs. Better World Books has committed to funding, through Books for Africa, the shipment of two 40-foot sea containers full of books (that’s 80,000 books) to Liberia for the country’s universities.

Cuttington is in dire need of books, so Liberia ’s brightest minds can be educated to help pull this country out of war-ravaged poverty. I think I speak for everyone at Better World Books when I say that we’re honored to be helping Cuttington.

www.flickr.com

6 Comments » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, , , , , , ,

Our Bridge to the Second Largest Continent on Earth

Posted by admin on 02.05.2008 at 9:55 pm

According to an article by Carol S., who is asking the simple question of, “How Big is Africa?”: Africa is about the same size as the US , China and Europe added together. It is the world’s second largest continent, with 11,670,000 square miles constituting just over 20% of the earth’s total landmass. Those statistics are critical in understanding Better World Books relationship and support to its largest literacy partner, Books for Africa!

In further exploring her questions, Carol views a map of Africa on Books for Africa’s website and finds a detailed map of Africa . (See below!) Then she discovers Better World Books, the largest supporter of Books for Africa’s projects–distributing textbooks to schools all over Africa . Books for Africa will be 20 years old this year and has sent 18 million books to schools and libraries all over the Continent. With the great support of Better World Books, Books for Africa will continue its incredible mission in supplementing and sustaining literacy in the second largest continent on earth!

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Straight Outta Liberia

Posted by admin on 02.05.2008 at 9:47 am


Liberia, courtesy of Justus

Over at Adventures in Liberia, Justus talks about an event that you might be interested in:

Today I witnessed a marvellous ceremony which took place at Aquilla School in Paynesville. Visions in Action is helping supply a million books to schools, libraries, and other areas to promot literacy. They are also training teachers how to use a library system so that the books are not just locked in a room as a valuable ‘trophy’ and not used by the kids! The children marched into the school joyously singing where there were speakers from USAID Liberia, Books for Africa, and Better World Books as well as members of the Liberian Ministry of Education. It was exciting to see all the smiling faces on the children. I met with the founder of Visions in Action who I am going to sit down with and talk about possibly volunteering with them as they continue to distribute the million books to the 15 counties around Liberia. I met Justin (on betterworld.com team) and Andy (CIO) from Better World Books which is an online book seller like amazon.com but they donate some of the proceeds to purchase books for children who need them. So if you are going to buy a book check them out at www.betterworld.com.

Thanks Justus!  Keep up the good fight!

Full post

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University of Oran update!

Posted by admin on 01.15.2008 at 3:41 pm

Another great update from Martha Schouten at the University of Oran in Algeria, recent recipient of a Better World Books-funded Books for Africa shipment. Check out previous posts here:
-University of Oran Receives BFA Books!,
-Better World Books Funds Shipment to the University of Oran in Algeria,
-University of Oran gets ready for books!,
-University of Oran update)


Dear Pat and Sarah Lynne,

Life goes by slowly here in Algeria and so do our books’ preparations. The students worked all Christmas-El Kebir vacation then I went to Spain for a week to see my son and the Algerian librarian went to Paris for a week and now we are finally back to class. Most of 300 boxes have been listed for the rector and are about ready to circulate in the large library in the language department. The rector is determined to protect the books and to keep a diligent watch on them. Students will only be able to consult the titles of the books in order to check out from the large library. For the moment there is not enough security and the students and teachers are little accustomed to any other method.

My English club members are now working on our smaller walk-through library. If this goes well then the larger library will allow walk through too.  We have to make cards for each book we have selected and also put them into the computer. Our collection comes almost last then we will make a donation to the University of Mostaganam about 30 miles East from here along the coast. The teachers have come to see me and are overwhelmed at the variety of the generous gift you have made us. The medical literature has gone to the medical school already to my knowledge and the children’s books to another children’s library near the main campus of translation and law.

I am sending a few pictures of the library permanent crew and my students. We had a barbecue of merguez (grilled mutton sausage) and all the trimmings the first day we were back in class. We are on campus not too far from the library. I hope you both enjoy them.

Martha Schouten and English students
ELF Es-Senia
Oran Algeria

4 Comments » | Tagged Impact, Our Partners, , , , , ,

Nomevu High School

Posted by admin on 01.11.2008 at 12:39 am

This is part of a series covering BWB Co-Founder Xavier’s recent trip to Africa.

*November 12, 2007

Rain is soaking the red dirt roads and we are exhausted as we head to the fifth and final school of the day, Nomevu High School. We are running late because of a long presentation at Mafunda HS, but the students at Nomevu are waiting for us, even though many have quite a walk home ahead of them. Alone on a grassy hill, this school has just one building. There’s only room for the 8th and 9th graders, so they’ll have to drop out by 10th grade.


Teachers greet us at Nomevu High School.

Thankfully, ECAG-USA, an non-profit building classrooms in this area and that organized our Africa trip (see their website or read the previous post), has placed this school as #1 on the waiting list for more classrooms, so that the students can graduate.

The process for a school to get new classrooms is that the school’s home community puts up a $1000 payment per classroom, and then, through fundraising and donations, ECAG sponsors the additional $11,000. The classrooms have a standard design, so the materials are accountable to the last brick and can house around 50 students comfortably. They are built with electrical wiring, but adding power is an extra for the school to pay. What happens if ECAG doesn’t build? That’s it; no new classrooms. The kids don’t graduate, or in some cases, have no school at all. Many students in this area still learn under a tree, but on a rainy day like this, it’s a day off. Cool! say the American kids, but think of how often it can rain in a season here! And, no desks, no library.. hardly a good learning environment.

I have mentioned that all primary students are fed a meal each day at school. What we learned today is that the government doesn’t sponsor high school students, so that means these kids at Nomevu had been waiting for us, without eating all day. Our hearts are breaking for these humble, appreciative students. Sorry this post might be a downer, but after we’d fallen in love with so many kids all day it was really hitting us, how hard life can be here. On the way here, on the radio, the newscaster announced that HIV/AIDS is the #1 killer of children in South Africa. How were these kids today so full of life?  I had to wonder if they thought our visit meant that we would be able to solve their problems, or if it was, you know, just a lot of fun.  I certainly had a wonderful day, but still I felt a bit guilty.


The end of a long day, Nomevu HS.

Like at every school, the students had songs and dances ready for us, including  the native costumes for the girls. I don’t feel comfortable posting video of the girls to BWB because they are topless, but I did think they were so beautiful. My favorite choral performance of the day, however, was this one:

Let it shine in Zululand video. (youtube)

The teachers provided a snack for us of sandwiches and chicken in the other classroom. Knowing the kids hadn’t eaten, and since we’d had snacks all day, nobody made a move for the spread. Some of the ladies in our group whispered we had to take something to not be rude, so begrudgingly, we did. More guilt… Anyway, we unloaded the sandwiches and drinks we had in the vans. With that and all the leftovers from the snack, there was enough for a small meal for each student, and we felt better knowing they had eaten.

What a day! We are overwhelmed but ready to help these students graduate. If you’ve been following this blog, you remember that at the end of this day, after Nomevu HS, we went to visit the student Nomkhosi’s family.


Xavier and Erin, bottom left, and the ECAG and Books for Africa group, enjoy the show.

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Eshowe Community Action Group

Posted by admin on 01.10.2008 at 1:38 pm

This is part of a series covering Xavier’s recent trip to Africa.

*November 12, 2007

If you’ve noticed it’s been Nov. 12th for a few posts, you are not crazy and I am not mistaken; as I mentioned earlier, we went to five schools and visited a student’s home all in the same day! There is so much to cover that I had to break it up into several posts.

After Thembalisizwe Primary, we headed to Emasundwini Primary school. We’re not cruising around a town to get there; we drive on small country roads, through hills dotted with clusters of straw-roofed huts (don’t forget the zebras by the roadside). At the school, are six buildings, green and white this time.  This is another Books for Africa school and we visited the new library.

Emasundswini Library.mov (3.38 MB)

Additionally, some of the group, including Xavier, taught the students a small lesson using a world map (“Can you tell me where South Africa is?”). The teachers surprised us with finger sandwiches, which we ate tentatively (would we get sick?).

[I have to note, looking back, that nobody did get sick from the food. I was expecting to, since my world travel experiences have taught me that when one travels, one spends a day not eating if you know what I mean.]

I think Xavier needed to work off his sandwich, so he challenged some kids to a footrace. Note how he thought the finish line was a bit earlier than the kids.
Xavier races kids 3.mov (2.18 MB)

Next up was Gqokinsimbi High School, a very special one to our leader, Henry Bromelkamp. He has personally sponsored a classroom here through ECAG-USA. He started this organization after visiting the area and learning about the original organization, Eshowe Community Action Group, whose purpose is to build classrooms in the rural area around the town of Eshowe. Henry founded the US arm so that American donors could give money more easily and be able to write off donations at tax-time.  This all begs the question, Why doesn’t the South Africa government build classrooms in Zululand? Exactly. The government, possibly via some lingering racist sentiment (this authors opinion), doesn’t build here, but if ECAG does, the government will provide teachers and daily meals for primary students.
About the school name: I think the letter q stands for a click sound. Awesome!

I like this video because it shows that high school kids are truly the same everywhere.
video of Xavier talking to a cute girl at Gqokinsimbi HS. (youtube)


Barb Ryan, Xavier and Henry teach some maps at Mafunda HS.

Later on was Mafunda High School, with slogans “We Live For Tomorrow” and “Conquer the World Through Education” displayed near the entrance. Here again, our group taught classroom lessons, this time using photos of Minnesota (where most of the group hails from), showing seasons and such. Not one student answered affirmatively to the question, “Has anyone seen snow before?” None of us thought a description alone can really convey what snow is like, but the students did enjoy seeing pictures of snowmen and discussing what makes our countries similar and different.
Here again, we were treated to food and drink and a very detailed PowerPoint of the school’s goals through 2010.  These included the idea that the “doors would never shut” because the school would create an adult ed. program in the evenings, and sponsor community meeting space.

Here are some guys with beautiful voices and sweet moves. The ululations you hear are typical of how girls sing while guys dance here.
video of boys performing at Mafunda HS. (youtube)

Okay, one more school today… in next blog entry.

Girls perform at Mafunda HS.

Teacher at Mafunda HS.


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