18 May 2014

Botswana Book Project in collaboration with Books for Africa and Sir Emeka Offor Foundation have donated over 60 000 books.

Speaking at the handover ceremony at Baobab Primary School in Gaborone, the founder and director of Botswana Book Project, Ms Pam Shelton said since the inception of Botswana Book Project over 17 years ago, the project had donated over 700 000 books to children.

Ms Shelton thanked the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation for their generosity in covering the shipping cost of 750 boxes that contained the books from America to Botswana.

Baobab Primary School, which is part of the project, would be used as the distribution point for the books to schools, tertiary institutions and community libraries.  The books were donated by individual Americans.

Narrating the history of the project, Ms Shelton said the project began in Maun in 1997. “Having been a school librarian in the USA for over 24 years, I was excited to share my energy and enthusiasm with the schools in Botswana,” she said.

Ms Shelton said she partnered with Ms Olga Seretse, the director of Maun Education Centre and brainstormed on ways to bring the books to the country.

Ms Shelton said through surfing the Internet, she discovered Books for Africa, an American charity that sent containers of books to Africa and anyone who would cover the shipping costs. She said the first container arrived in 1998, paid for by her late father.

She said they formed a library committee composed of school heads and school board members with the aim of encouraging literacy in the country. “We toured the district encouraging primary schools to dedicate their staff rooms to becoming a library space,” she said.

In her welcome remarks, the head teacher of Baobab, who is also the second director of the Botswana Book Project, Ms Christine Loabile said when she was introduced to the project, it was a match made in heaven.

She thanked Books for Africa and Sir Emeka Offor Foundation for their efforts. “I can assure that the love of reading will be spread throughout Botswana,” she said.

The Botswana Book Project’s primary function to date has been to supply donated books and literacy materials to the people through schools and other educational institutions.

The resources are fundamental for the realisation of an educated and informed nation’s Vision 2016 pillar.  ENDS