Books 2 Africa
Interesting facts about South Africa

  • The Republic of South Africa is located at the southern tip of the continent of
    Africa.
  • The size of South Africa is slightly less than twice the size of Texas.
  • Pretoria is the administrative capital.
  • It consists of nine provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal,
    Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West, and Western Cape.
  • South Africa’s population is just over 48 million people.
  • The country has eleven official languages of which IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, English,
    Afrikaans, and Sepedi are the most widely spoken.
  • South Africa is the world's largest producer of gold, platinum, and chromium.
  • The first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid and ushered in
    a new era of democracy under the leadership of President Nelson Mandela.
Counter
Above: Friends and fellow Bentonville High School
students are always prepared to help
Geo Visitors Map
Website updated July 24th, 2011
Above: Many hands make light work...Members of
the Bentonville/Bella Vista Daybreak Rotary Club
showed their commitment to the project in more
than one way

UPDATE !!!

24,819 books were donated to the 2011 Books2Africa book drive!! Thanks everybody!

My name is Ewald Visser. I am a freshman at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A.
Reading is my passion. I love to read; it is one of my favorite things to do. I believe that the better a child can
read, the easier that child will find it to study, to learn, to grow. But in order for a child to fall in love with reading
and with books, they must first have something worthwhile to read.

Like Katherine Paterson said:

            “It is not enough to simply teach children to read;
            we have to give them something worth reading.
            Something that will stretch their imaginations-
            something that will help them make sense of their own lives
            and encourage them to reach out toward people
            whose lives are quite different from their own.”

In Africa, the situation is a lot different than here in the United States of America. In many African countries, it is
difficult to find a book to read, let alone find a book that is worth reading. The Republic of South Africa is just
one of the many countries in Africa with a dire need for books. I quote from the SA Partners website (they are
the American partners of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund): “The vast majority of schools in South Africa
have no functional library. In the Province of the Eastern Cape, for example, 93% of schools do not have a
library. Overall, 85% of the population of South Africa lives beyond the reach of a public library.”

I want to share my passion of reading with as many children in Africa as I possibly can by supplying them with
books they might not otherwise have had access to. It is for this reason that I have for the past five years
organized book drives to collect books for school libraries in Southern Africa. With all the support I received
from the Bentonville school principals, teachers, and students, as well as all the support I received from
individuals both in our own community and further afield, all five book drives have been resounding successes.
More details about these book drives are given on the following few pages.

From the first 1,100 books that were sent to South Africa in 2007, the project has continued to grow every
year. So far, thanks to a lot of generous contributions, 57,700 books have been donated over the past five
years. They have been sent to South Africa and its neighboring countries to relieve a bit of the book shortage
there. Just imagine the impact these books can have on the lives of so many children.

But the work is not finished. I have received e-mails from individuals in Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Cameroon,
Uganda and South Africa asking if it is possible to receive some of the donated books for their local libraries.
The need for books is very real and very pressing. While I am ready to go off to college, the book drives will
continue. The Bentonville/Bella Vista Daybreak Rotary Club will be taking over the project. They have proven
their commitment to the project through and through, so I'm happy that the project is in very good hands.

We are already accepting books for next year's book drive, and I would like to implore you to consider donating
your books to the book drive.  We are looking for children’s books - Kindergarten through High School, fiction
as well as non-fiction.  

We will come and pick up any books you would like to donate at your home or business in Northwest Arkansas.
Just complete the form on the “Contact Me” page, and we will contact you to arrange for a time and place to
pick up the books. Just go through your bookshelves and donate as many books as you possibly can.

Please help us to expose the children of Africa to books that can fuel their imagination; books that can open up
the world to them; books that can help them to grow as individuals...









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