30 community libraries in marginalized communities are set to benefit from a donation of 18,000 books to help boost literacy levels.
Adopt-A-Library is an initiative that seeks to call on authors, publishers, booksellers and the general public to participate by donating books.
Mercy Kibira, MOTO Books and Arts Festivals Director, said that the initiative will help several publishing houses and authors to adopt any of the 30 libraries across the country by donating their titles to the community-based resource and information centres.
“We are targeting 18,000 books and we have already secured 9,000 from Maktabas. For every library adopted we will be donating 300 books,” said Kibira.
Maktabas is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bridge the literacy gap between school children, youth and adults from marginalized communities by making books of all kinds accessible to anyone with an interest in reading.
“The MOTO Books and Arts Festival is an initiative that will help to connect like-minded people, who are enthusiastic about books and the creative scene, and who also appreciate the hidden gems in the world of art and theatre,” Kibira said.
Kibira said that the inaugural MOTO books and Arts festival will be held from April 21 to 24 at Village Market to reignite interest in books, reading and enhance the impact of the interest of art and literature in the country.
The event will also bring together local and international authors, publishers, illustrators, booksellers, artists and brands to showcase their work and share emerging literature trends.
The World Book and Copyright Day which will be celebrated on April 23 aims at encouraging children and young people to read for pleasure through its work with authors, illustrators, publishers, bookshops and libraries.
Kibira urged everyone to participate by dropping the books at the Village Market or send via parcel delivery services.
