U.S. Army Partnership Delivers Books to Garoua, Cameroon

On April 19, 2018, U.S. Army Civil Affairs Team (CAT) 4032 delivered 27 boxes of donated books to the Garoua Regional Linguistic Center (Centre Linguistique Regional de Garoua) in Garoua, Cameroon in partnership with BFA and fellow nonprofit organization Spirit of America. The Linguistic Center hosts the Cameroonian government-sponsored bilingual training program, and the U.S. Embassy has supported an English Access Program there. The center's library collection previously consisted of sparsely filled shelves, and the few existing books were mostly geared towards French and English language training.

Jean Louis Okomon, Director of the Linguistic Center, reports that the library is often visited by students from the University of Ngaoundere Annex and various secondary schools in Garoua who are seeking non-language training books. This donation has boosted the Center’s ability to provide a wide variety of quality books for a more diverse range of students, benefitting both the Linguistic Center and the surrounding community!  A ceremony was held at the Center to present the books, with over 2 dozen staff and students in attendance, including Director Okomon, as well as members of CAT 4032. 

Books For Africa has worked with U.S. Armed Services in the past, completing successful distribution projects with U.S. Army Soldiers in Tanzania and U.S. Marines in Djibouti.  BFA is excited to be working with the U.S. Army Civil Affairs Team in Garoua, Cameroon on this project, and we are grateful for their hard work distributing these valuable resources to schools and communities that need them.

Several more book donation events are planned for the upcoming weeks as books are distributed to local schools in the region, so make sure to check back soon for updates!