35,362 books provided to support Palestinian and Lebanese readers
35,362 publisher-donated books provided to support Palestinian and Lebanese readers
Book Aid International is pleased to announce that 35,362 brand-new publisher-donated books are being provided to eight partners across the West Bank and Lebanon. They will be essential to education in communities recovering from the recent conflict and are part of Book Aid International’s ambition to support readers affected by emergencies.
18,497 books are already on their way to five partners in Lebanon, one of whom is the Lebanese Chapter of International Board on Books for Young People (LBBY). During the conflict, LBBY delivered the Children in Crisis project. Children in Crisis saw specially trained volunteers use UK-donated books in English from Book Aid International alongside books in Arabic to help children cope with trauma. President of LBBY Shereen Kriedieh commented on the project:
“Books have always been a source of knowledge, inspiration, and solace. During times of conflict, they take on an even greater role, serving as a form of psychological refuge and a means of healing. Bibliotherapy, the use of books as a therapeutic tool, was an essential component in helping children understand and process their experiences during the recent war.”
Shereen went on to talk about her plans for the books now on their way to her organisation:
“As part of our future donations, we aim to support schools affected by the conflict, ensuring that children have access to quality books. This will help them understand their own feelings, connect with others, and foster a love for reading.”
16,865 further books will also shortly leave London bound for three partners in the West Bank. These include children’s books for NGOs running public libraries as well as medical and higher education texts for universities and medical settings.
Book Aid International has in recent years increased its work restocking libraries when books are lost and creating opportunities for people fleeing or living with conflict to continue to read. Examples of the charity’s work in this area include establishing more than 117 new school libraries in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee camp and refugee settlements across the North of Uganda, providing books to education NGOs in Somalia and South Sudan and sending 50,000 books to restock the University of Mosul Library. Since 2017, 387,086 refugees have directly benefited from the charity’s work.
Book Aid International Head of Programmes and Partnerships Samantha Sokoya commented on the importance of these books to the charity’s partners:
“When conflict closes classrooms and forces families to flee, the books we provide enable our partners to find creative ways to keep children reading. We’ve heard of partners holding classes under trees and worked with them to create lending libraries so that carers and kids can read together at home. That’s the power of books – wherever they are, a space for learning, hope and imagination is created. I would like to thank all our donors, whether they give books or the funds to run our projects and programmes, for their life-changing support.”
Book Aid International accepts donations of brand-new books from the book trade and encourages anyone who wants to support its work to consider a financial contribution. Just £2 sends a book.
To find out more or get involved, visit www.bookaid.org.
Book Aid International would like to thank the Multiply Group for supporting its most recent shipment to Lebanon and Palestine.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Images
Please find a selection of images and the Book Aid International logo here: https://bookaid.dash.app/sharing/type/collection/alrma-books-during-conflict-press-release
Further information
Please contact Emma Taylor:
07582402446
emma.taylor@bookaid.org
You can read more about LBBY’s work from Shereen here: https://bookaid.org/blog/conflict/rebuilding-lives-through-the-power-of-reading/
About Book Aid Interantional
Book Aid International is a UK registered charity which shares the power of books and helps create a more equal world.
Every year Book Aid International works with its partners to provide over one million brand-new books to thousands of communities where people have very few opportunities to read and to support and establish libraries.
Each book the charity sends is carefully selected in response to partner requests, and all of the books provided from the UK are donated by publishers. Book Aid International also funds the purchase of thousands of locally published books every year.
The charity receives no government grants or support and relies entirely on the generosity of publishers and financial donors to reach readers around the world. To find out more or help send the next book, visit bookaid.org.
Book Aid International is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity number 313869 and company number 880754.