Books for Africa, a charity that ships donated books from the United States to schools and students in Africa, opened a new warehouse in Atlanta on June 26. The event attracted some 200 people, including Hilda Suka-Mafudze, the African Union ambassador to the United States, who offered a keynote speech.
“No development tool is more effective than education and literacy,” Suka-Mafudze said, citing former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. “When people are able to access education, they can break free from the cycle of poverty.”
Last year, Books for Africa shipped 3.7 million books valued at over $38 million, along with 167 computers and e-readers containing 300,000 digital books, to 20 African countries. The organization raised more than $3.2 million to ship the books. In a typical year, some 10,000 people would volunteer their time to work at the warehouses to help ship the books, which leave from the port of Savannah, Ga. In all, the charity has shipped 51 million books since it was founded in 1988.
