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Changing Lives Through Books
Book Aid International works for a world where no one is without the books that will enrich, improve and change their lives. Every year, it makes brand new, carefully selected books available to millions of people around the world.
Players of People's Postcode Lottery have raised over £2.7 Million for the charity, enabling Book Aid International to expand its work across Africa - putting books into classrooms, refurbishing libraries, training teachers and librarians and offering the opportunity to read to 24 million people in an average year. Support from our players is also helping the charity provide books for those who face huge challenges to reading and learning - including refugees.
Reaching Out
In Africa, 29 million people have been forced from home by violence or persecution. People running for their lives cannot take books with them - and when they finally find safety in a camp or host community, educational opportunities are often very limited. Without education, temporary displacement risks becoming a lifetime of lost potential.
Book Aid International is partnering with NGOs across Africa, creating opportunities for displaced people to read and learn. It has worked to open 41 libraries in schools in the Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Uganda. In Kakuma refugee camp, the charity has given 24,000 refugees books in their classrooms with support from our players.
The opportunity to read in a well-stocked school library helps young people succeed in school and work towards achieving their dreams. Mayol, 22, fled his village in South Sudan in 2013 to escape war. Today he lives in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp. He said, "War arrived again in our village at night. I ran away and my mum ran too. Maybe she was killed. Now I am a refugee. Here in the camp there are so many challenges - one book is given to 10 students. The books that we have in the library - they're good but we need more! Some of the books help us improve our English, others help us understand things easily. Now I have the opportunity to study for free, I need to utilise this so that so when I go back to South Sudan, I can bring peace."
Today, 1% of the world's population has been forcibly displaced - more than at any time since the Second World War. With players' support, Book Aid International will expand its work, reaching out to those forced to flee their homes and take the next step towards a world where everyone has access to life-changing books.
Helping Deserving Causes
Players have raised over £700 Million so far for thousands of Charities like Book Aid International. By playing, you can add your support, while being in with the chance to win superb Prizes every day. Check out How It Works, and if you're feeling lucky, sign up to play.
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Published: 14/06/2021
