Seizing the Opportunity to Make an Impact: Spotlight on Claude and Barbara Mayfield

Claude and Barbara Mayfield, both of whom who grew up in Ellijay and now live in Roswell outside of Atlanta, started a small books project in Zimbabwe in the 1990s when they retired from their textile business in South Africa. With the help of Books For Africa (BFA) and other nonprofits like the Rotary Club and several businesses, the couple has sent two million books, as well as thousands of solar lights, to over 300 libraries and 60,000 students in rural Zimbabwe. The books are packed and shipped from BFA’s Atlanta warehouse, in recent years with the help of funding from the Department of Defense Humanitarian Assistance Funded Transportation Program.

Early on, when they visited rural schools, they observed that there were few books and libraries and the chalkboard was sometimes on a brick wall. Yet the students were disciplined and eager to learn, Barbara Mayfield said. 

“We had logistical issues early on, and importing containers of books into Zimbabwe was a mystery we had to unravel and solve,” Claude explained.  “And our godsend there was Rotary International. And so, we found Rotary Club of Harare West, and they were a really good fit for what we were doing. They could give us import duty exemption, which is a big stumbling block because there were big duties on books and other things we bring in such as solar lighting.”

And they found other partners as well.

“So, we found groups and diverse groups that were nonprofits, conservation groups, businesses that had community involvement functions within the business,” Claude said.  “And we pulled together a group that covered probably two thirds of the country, and Barbara and I went around in a four-wheel drive and found these people on the ground in Zimbabwe.”

And almost by happenstance they read a magazine story in 2011 about Pam Shelton, from Salem, Massachusetts, who was a BFA volunteer who had helped ship books to Botswana. Barbara called her and it turned out she was heading to the BFA warehouse in Atlanta the next day. They picked her up at her hotel and so began their relationship with BFA. 

At the same time, they had an anonymous donor who had spent time in Zimbabwe who helped pay for the first shipment from the BFA warehouse.

“What they (students) hear spoken at home is their native language and they learned English, probably some at home, but mainly in school,” Claude explained. “And we decided that's how we can really make an impact on these kids and their future, their ability to get through their primary school and get on to the big hurdle for these kids is to get through grade seven, which is their primary school. Then they get a comprehensive exam at that point, which they must pass to even qualify to go on to secondary school.”

The work in Zimbabwe is important to Claude and Barbara “because it’s an extension of our life there,” Claude said. “We spent a lot of time in Southern Africa. We learned a lot doing business there, which has come to play in being able to get these people and organizations working together. We didn’t create Books For Africa. We didn’t create Rotary Club of Harare West. We didn’t create Padenga Holdings (a business). Without all these people there wouldn’t be a project… But if we gave ourselves credit for anything, it's that we pulled them all together in what is called the Zambezi Schoolbook Project.”

Barbara added: “First off, it's Books For Africa. They made it easy. They were so helpful. And then the books are so important to the children once they get there and the teachers, it's just fantastic. And each year we've been there, the books have gotten better, better and better.”

Barbara and Claude hope to continue their work in Zimbabwe in the years go come.

Patrick Plonski, Executive Director of Books For Africa, reflected on their project:  

“Claude and Barbara’s work in leading this effort to send so many books to Zimbabwe is simply phenomenal.  I have visited the schools in Zimbabwe where these books have been placed into libraries, and met with the small group of Rotarians in Zimbabwe leading this effort.  It just shows how a few people with a good plan and a lot of motivation can accomplish so much when they put their minds to it!”

More information on the Zambezi Schoolbook Project: https://zambezi-schoolbook-project.org/