Posted on Wednesday 20 August 2008
Sebastian Faulks CBE steps in to host the launch of Book Aid International’s new fundraising campaign; the aim is to raise £5 million over the next three years, sending 750,000 books a year to sub-Sahara Africa by 2010.
The launch takes place on International Literacy Day, 8th September at the London Review Bookshop with special guest Harriet Sianjibu-Miyato, Director of one of Book Aid International’s Partner NGOs, Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS). ZOCS run community schools and feeding programmes for 37,000 children in Zambia, particularly orphans, giving them the opportunity to gain an education they might otherwise not have had:
‘Books are a source of inspiration for everyone; they give insight of what goes on in a different world. The children at ZOCS are eager to learn, and through the provision and supplying of books to them, they have hope for the future.’
Celebrities, authors and public figures have come together to give their support to the campaign, highlighting the importance of literacy and the impact books can have on people’s lives. Joanna Lumley selected The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, which inspired her to start drawing, with David Cameron selecting a very different book, Robert Graves’ harrowing account of life in World War I trenches, Goodbye to All That.
The launch takes place on International Literacy Day, 8th September at the London Review Bookshop with special guest Harriet Sianjibu-Miyato, Director of one of Book Aid International’s Partner NGOs, Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS). ZOCS run community schools and feeding programmes for 37,000 children in Zambia, particularly orphans, giving them the opportunity to gain an education they might otherwise not have had:
‘Books are a source of inspiration for everyone; they give insight of what goes on in a different world. The children at ZOCS are eager to learn, and through the provision and supplying of books to them, they have hope for the future.’
Celebrities, authors and public figures have come together to give their support to the campaign, highlighting the importance of literacy and the impact books can have on people’s lives. Joanna Lumley selected The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, which inspired her to start drawing, with David Cameron selecting a very different book, Robert Graves’ harrowing account of life in World War I trenches, Goodbye to All That.