Milpitas High Students Start Library in Africa Through Book Drive

As co-president of the Milpitas High School Book Club, junior Jamie Lam was looking to launch the Fifth Annual Book Drive last summer.

To her pleasant surprise, the club’s drive raised enough books to start a library in Africa.

Working with the Peninsula-based African Library Project, Lam, co-president Valerie Lau and their classmates collected 1,500 children's books -- exceeding their 1,000 book goal -- and raised $500 between November and February. In late March, she shipped the books to northern Ghana to begin a school library at Ndewura Jakpa Senior High School.

“It takes a lot of commitment and dedication,” said Lam. “But you get a sense that you’re truly making a difference in the community and the world.”

Lam began the undertaking when she found the African Library Project through an online web search, impressed by the easily laid out process and number of partner organizations in Africa.

“When I saw the goals, I thought they would be a challenge, but worth it,” said Lam, who helped place book collection bags in every classroom. “I was really surprised that people were willing to donate.”

Founded in 2005 by Chris Bradshaw, the African Library Project has so far completed 985 libraries in rural African communities -- many that would not otherwise have access to books, said Bradshaw.

Bradshaw herself was inspired to start the project after traveling to Lesotho in Southern Africa and noticing how it lacked libraries. She aimed to change that and, more broadly, work towards ending the cycle of illiteracy and poverty found in many African countries.

How To Start A Library

All African Library Projects start with a simple formula: volunteers, young and old alike, gather 1,000 gently-used children’s books and raise $500 to handle the costs of shipping.

Partners in Africa include  Peace Corps volunteers, National Library Service staff and NGOs. For now, the Africa Library Project is collecting books in English for countries where English is one of the spoken languages.

For more guidelines on how to get started, view the guidelines on the African Library Project website.

Nearby in Silicon Valley, there are currently book drives taking place in Saratoga and Palo Alto.