BFA books arrive in Democratic Republic of the Congo

On September 27th, 2014 the Congo American Language Institute (CALI), an Embassy owned English language school, hosted an event for over 200 local Kinshasa schools with around 300 English language teachers in attendance for the distribution of materials from Books For Africa. In attendance were the U.S. Ambassador, Vice Minister of Education, and Ms. Ellen Masi - the public Affairs Officer from the Embassy. All of the speakers praised the work of Books For Africa. In addition to the 200 schools in Kinshasa, this project will also distribute books to rural areas of the DRC, with a goal of getting books to all regions of the country. This shipment was made possible by the generous support of the Rotary Club of Northfield, MN, USA and Out of Print Clothing.

Bryce Smedley, PhD, a Senior English Language Fellow with the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa tells BFA that "[the] teachers were overwhelmed with emotion. One teacher told me this was the first time she has ever received books for free, and that these will be the first books for his school...I want to personally thank you and your team. Your projects make a real difference in Africa! The book distribution on Saturday was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. Every single participant continued to thank me and praise the work of this project." 

Books For Africa is grateful to Dr. Smedley and the CALI team in the DRC, the Northfield Rotary Club, and Out of Print for their combined efforts in making this project an overwhelming success! 

See the official press release from the US Embassy in Kinshasa announcing the book distribution project here.