Dear Friends
Letter from Chris Bradshaw, ALP Founder
Happy 10th Birthday to Us! We celebrated by having our biggest year ever - 309 libraries to Ghana, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland. We’re up 25% from 2014, and our ten-year total is 1,720 libraries.
Am I proud? You betcha! Proud of all the North Americans and Africans who partner to recycle high quality books into small sustainable libraries in rural Africa where books are in short supply. It is a simple idea, but hundreds of people contribute on both sides of the Atlantic to make each library a reality. Then thousands of people, mostly children, read the books in each library, and “Books Change Everything.”
Eight of our board members just traveled to Ghana (on their own dime) for our 5th bi-annual African Partners Summit. It was totally inspiring! First, 33 delegates from 8 countries met to visit local libraries, share best practices and strengthen our systems and friendships. Next, 85 teacher-librarians from all over Ghana joined us to learn, share ideas, and celebrate. It was crazy fun and inspiring for all!
Despite significant challenges, our African partners remain positive and hopeful about the future of their children. Many work as volunteers in a culture where volunteerism is rare. I’m so grateful to them and to the teacher-librarians who work daily to help children expand their horizons through reading.
With Gratitude,
Chris Bradshaw
ALP Founder / President
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