How books get to Africa

This roadmap shows how a single book from Libraries For Kids International travels all the way from Marietta, Georgia to a school in Africa.

Books and containers move through many stages before reaching students and schools. Follow the journey below to see how your donation creates impact.

The journey of a book

1. Your donation

   You spark the journey. Teachers tell us what books their students need, and your donations help turn those requests into reality.

2. Leaving the East Coast of the United States

   Working closely with our distribution partners, books begin their journey from the East Coast of the United States, carefully packed and prepared for the thousands of miles ahead.

3. Crossing the Atlantic

   Loaded onto cargo vessels, the books travel across the Atlantic Ocean toward Africa. While the journey is long, the destination is clear: helping students gain access to resources that support literacy and learning.

   

4. Arriving in Africa

   When shipments arrive at ports along Africa’s coastline, they begin the next phase of their journey. We navigate customs procedures and then coordinate transportation to the warehouses.

   

5. Preparing for schools

   At the warehouse, every box is unloaded, every book is stamped “Libraries For Kids International - Not For Sale,” and collections are carefully sorted and organized for the schools that requested them.

   

6. Traveling inland

   The books continue their journey across highways, dirt roads and rural pathways, traveling hundreds of miles to reach schools that are far from major cities.

   

7. The last mile

   For some schools, the final delivery requires motorcycles, small vehicles or even carrying books by hand. No destination is too remote when children are waiting.

   

8. Reaching the school

   The real journey starts when the books arrive at a school and are placed on library shelves for students to discover and enjoy.

   

Mileage