African Library Project

In 2004, Chris Bradshaw and her family were pony trekking in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho in Southern Africa. When told there was just one library in the entire country, she couldn't stop thinking about US landfills clogged with books and the overflowing bookshelves of most American families. A discussion with the headman of a local village concluded with Chris offering to send books if the village would provide the space, staff, furniture and a committee of local citizens dedicated to the sustainability of the library. Two months later, the building was half completed and the village decided to assign the project to a US Peace Corps Volunteer scheduled to arrive. The PCV coincidentally turned out to be a retired librarian! Together, she and Chris started 5 libraries in Lesotho's Malealea Valley. These were the first 5 libraries of the now more than 2,200 libraries in 12 African countries started by the African Library Project. Anyone in the USA or southern Canada can help start a library by collecting 1,000 gently-used children's book and about USD$500 to cover the cost of shipping them.