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Books For Africa has been honored with a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for the sixth consecutive year. Charity Navigator is the nation’s largest evaluator of charities. They provide ratings for over 5,000 American charities based on Financial Health and Accountability and Transparency. Books For Africa is proud to be recognized for continuing to offer excellent services as one of the most highly rated organizations in the country.

Books For Africa was proud to host His Excellency Elkanah Odembo, Kenyan Ambassador to the United States, as keynote speaker for fundraising events on May 8th and May 9th. His speech described the incredible impact that books will have in his home country as the foundations of a strong education system. "There is not a single more important investment than that which we are making in education, absolutely none." – Ambassador Elkanah Odembo

Over 27 million books sent to 46 countries in less than 25 years? Now that is something to celebrate! Books For Africa welcomed two very special guests to join us at our annual fundraising events in St. Paul, Minnesota, to celebrate our achievements and look forward to sending even more books to Africa for years to come. Guests joined the Books For Africa staff, board of directors, and special guests on Tuesday, May 8th for a special donor reception at the University Club of St. Paul. Mr. Oluwesegun Ibidapo- Obe, Minister of Consular and Immigration Services of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was the keynote speaker. Mr. Ibidapo-Obe made remarks on behalf of Ambassador Odebowale Ibidapo of Nigeria, as he was unable to attend the event due to an unexpected trip back to Lagos.

Books For Africa has a simple name and a simple mission: to end the book famine in Africa. Books are the foundation of a strong education, and education is the key to development. Books For Africa is proud to send books that address a real need in Africa: agricultural development. Why Agriculture? Hunger is the #1 health risk in the world (World Food Programme). The world’s population passed seven billion in early 2012. Feeding the world depends on efficient food and agricultural systems. Farmers will need to know the best farming practices for their environment to produce food to earn a decent living and feed the world.

100,000 books arrived in the Tema region in early April thanks to the Cargill Sustainable Cocoa program. In addition to textbooks for 27 primary and secondary schools, Cargill also sent a full West Core Law Library for the University of Ghana as a part of the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative. “We are extremely pleased to be supporting such a worthwhile project, providing key educational resources to schools in our local cocoa communities,” explained Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, Managing Director for Cargill Ghana. “Most of the students at these local schools have only had limited access to textbooks before and so by partnering with Books For Africa we can take a few steps towards addressing this.”

Executive director of Books For Africa, Patrick Plonski, PhD, keynoted at the 2012 World Literacy Summit at Oxford University on April 1st. Plonski presented on the Educational Return on Investment for Literacy Initiatives, including analysis of the impact of donated books on literacy in Africa.