Anushree Havanagi (9) pulled a cart stacked with books. Over the past few weeks her and her friends went door-to-door asking neighbors, friends, and strangers to donate books and raise money to build and maintain a library in Malawi, Africa. At the start of their book-gathering project, Havanagi and her peers were empty-handed, but, by the end of the month, they would be sitting in a room filled with 1,021 of books.
In December, Havanagi came across the African Library Project, an organization started in 2004 that has since donated more than four million books and created or improved over 3,000 small libraries across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Her and other students partnered with the organization which paired them with an advisor and place in Africa.
“We collect books and raise money to build [and stock] a library there for the kids,” Havanagi said. “We just get a bunch of kids’ books for K through 5th grade, and that way they can have a place to come and learn something new and have fun learning.”
Havanagi said her main purpose was to help kids access learning resources.
“I think we need to share that because it’s very important for humanity itself,” Havanagi said.
To jump-start her initiative, Havanagi met with a small group of students in January and planned to collect as many books and donations as they could by March 21 — the day they shipped the books off to Malawi.
“It was me and six other students, and we were very committed,” she said. “I definitely am super grateful to them because they helped a lot. [My peers] were just a big support in this whole project, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Because they tackled a big project with only a handful of students, the team had to overcome a steep learning curve. Havanagi and her peers had to learn how to best communicate their goals to strangers so they could send the books off in time.
“We learned how to talk more to people,” Havanagi said. “The way we got the books and the money was going door-to-door, and that took a lot of guts. I’m very proud of my group and myself for accomplishing this.”
By the end of their book-collection period, Havanagi and her peers had far exceeded their own expectations and shipped them off so they would arrive in Malawi around April 15.
“It was honestly a shock that we could even do that,” Havanagi said. “I remember the whole room just being filled to the brim with books. I think that it’s a huge [accomplishment], being able to take an idea and get it done. We got a few pictures back of [the kids and] one of the most fulfilling things is seeing the kids just smile and have the books in their hands.”
As she looks to the future, Havanagi said she hopes that the books she and her team donated can help the kids achieve and learn more.
“After doing this project, I’m definitely more grateful about school and where I live,” Havanagi said. “I just hope that I gave [the kids] a piece of my life with all the books. I hope they learn as much as they can from what we’ve given them and have fun with the stories.”
