Rageh Omaar to present BBC Radio 4 Appeal for Book Aid International
Book Aid International is delighted to announce that Rageh Omaar will present the charity’s appeal, which will air on 11th and 15th June. The funds raised will allow the charity to send more urgently needed brand-new books to readers around the world.
Rageh’s family is from Hargeisa, and he’s seen Book Aid International’s work first-hand at the city’s Silanyo National Library. The library is the first of its kind in Somaliland, and the charity has provided over 100,000 books to support its growth. He said:
“The books Book Aid International has donated to the Silanyo National Library have helped it become a hub of learning and debate – and a symbol of the city’s recovery from decades of war. Access to books is so important. They provide solace if you have to flee, the opportunity to learn no matter where you are and they fire dreams and ambitions. So I’m very proud to be supporting this wonderful charity in its important work.”
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 provides over one million brand-new books to thousands of communities where people have few opportunities to read and works with its partners to support and establish libraries.
The BBC Radio 4 Appeal will also feature the story of a reader who has been inspired to challenge gender stereotypes in her community through the donated books and the expansion of the library service across Somaliland.
Book Aid International’s Head of Fundraising, Laura Smith, spoke of the charity’s hopes for the appeal saying:
“We are absolutely delighted to have Rageh presenting our BBC Radio 4 appeal! The funds we raise will enable us to send more brand-new books to the readers around the world who need them most. So we’re encouraging readers across the UK to tune in on the 11th or 15th of June and encourage all the book lovers in their lives to do the same! Every £2 we raise will send another brand-new book.”
The appeal will air at 07.54 and 21.25 on Sunday 11th June and 15:27 on Thursday 15th June, and be available on catch up. Book Aid International will be posting links on its social media and website, so to stay up to date please follow the charity:
- https://www.instagram.com/bookaidinternational/
- https://twitter.com/Book_Aid
- https://www.facebook.com/bookaid/
To find out more, visit https://bookaid.org/support-us/radio-4.
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Images
Please find a selection of images and the Book Aid International logo here: https://bookaid.dash.app/sharing/type/collection/jejtc-radio-4-images
Further information
Please contact Emma Taylor:
07582402446
Emma.taylor@bookaid.org
About Book Aid International
Book Aid International provides over one million new books every year in the places where they will make the biggest difference and sets up libraries, trains people to run them and works with its partners to spark a love of reading.
Together with its 185 partners worldwide, the charity provides books everywhere from refugee camps, prisons and hospitals to remote schools where there has never been a library before.
All of the books the charity provides from the UK are donated by publishers, and Book Aid International receives no government grants or support. To find out more or to help send the next book visit bookaid.org.
Book Aid International is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity number 313869.