快猫视频

A听Minnesota听charity with the heart of its operation in听Atlanta听is changing futures by improving literacy in southern听Africa,听Zambia鈥檚 ambassador to the听United States听said in a Sept. 27 speech.

Chibamba Kanyama听braved the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and left the听United Nations General Assembly听in听New York, flying down early Friday morning as much of Atlanta was shut down to headline a fundraising luncheon for听快猫视频听at the听Buckhead Club.

That showed the ambassador鈥檚 dedication to an organization that sent its millionth book to his country of 21 million people this year.听

Mr. Kanyama, who also spoke in Atlanta last year, said the organization is filling a resource gap, noting that he recently returned to his own school in Zambia, only to find the same Encyclopedia Brittanica sets in use since the 1970s.听

Books, he said, are transformative not only for the content they provide, but also for the vision they ignite.听

鈥淔or many students, they provide a first glimpse into new ideas, new worlds and new possibilities. They offer a bridge between where these young people are today and where they can be tomorrow,鈥� Mr. Kanyama said in remarks.听

Books for Africa aims to solve what it calls Africa鈥檚 鈥渂ook famine鈥� by populating under-resourced school libraries and sending specialized digital books focused on health care and other technical fields.听

The nonprofit takes donations of books at its Atlanta warehouse that are then sorted by volunteers. Once it has raised enough money to cover the shipping, it sends full 40-foot containers full of books across the Atlantic. Since 1988, the organization has sent 60 million books to all countries on the continent, including 1.15 million to Zambia. Last year, it sent 1.6 million books valued at $16 million to 31 countries.听

While executive Director听Patrick Plonski听was unable to make the trip down to Atlanta for the luncheon, founder听Tom Warth听praised the city for what he said was an unsung role in the St. Paul-based organization鈥檚 success.听

鈥淟isten, we in Minneapolis, you know, we think that鈥檚 the core of books for Africa. It is not. It is here in Atlanta at the big warehouse. We do not give enough credit to our operation here,鈥� Mr. Warth said.听

Among the various luncheon speakers wer board members like current President听Tammie Follett听and long-time volunteers including听Perry Mitchell, who at more than 80 years old drives twice a week from his home near听Emory University听to the Books for Africa warehouse in听Marietta.

An English literature major who鈥檇 traveled to Africa during his career, Mr. Mitchell said he has seen the organization as a tangible way to make an impact on the continent. 听

鈥淚 believe educating girls and women in developing countries is the fastest, most efficient way to make the world a better place. Period,鈥� he said to applause from the luncheon audience. 鈥淲e men have been messing up the world for eons, haven鈥檛 we? So why are we still under-educating half of the world鈥檚 population?鈥�

Fotemah Mba, a longtime board member and Atlanta recording executive who hails from听Cameroon, said the city 鈥渟hows up and shows out鈥� when it comes to helping Africa develop.听

鈥淚鈥檝e been in Atlanta since 1991 and one thing I know about Atlanta 鈥� out of all the countries I鈥檝e lived in in the world, Atlanta always leads the way. Atlanta is always influential when anything is happening,鈥� said Mr. Mba, who served as master of ceremonies.听

Other remarks came from听Jay Madden, executive pastor at听Peachtree Presbyterian Church, who introduced the ambassador with a testimonial of Books for Africa鈥檚 importance from the church鈥檚 extensive work in听Malawi听along the border with Zambia. 听

鈥淚 can remember years ago when I was talking with one of our students when we first got involved there, and I asked her if they had a library at her school. And she smiled and she said, 鈥榊es, sir, we have a library, but there鈥檚 no information there.鈥� And fortunately, because of what Books for Africa is doing, and our partnership with them, there is information there now.鈥澨�

Mr. Kanyama, the ambassador, said the organization is in no danger of obsolescence, as 鈥渃ountless children鈥� on the continent still await their first book.

鈥淗ow can we expect a child to reach their full potential if they did not have, or do not have access to, the tools that they need to learn? This is where books for Africa has stepped in and has played an indispensable role in addressing these critical shortages.鈥�