100 000 Books for Guinea
Help children from Conakry, the capital city of Guinea, learn how to read and write.
33.7146%(168573,05pln of 500000pln)
Donate a book that will change somebody’s world!
Some books can change everything and everything begins from them. We have grown used to them, but elsewhere in the world they open doors which have seemed to be locked forever. In Guinea, they open the doors to hope. These special books are textbooks that will be used by Guinean children to learn how to read and write. This is the first step to a whole new life. A step which they will make together with us.
Although education in Guinea is free and obligatory only 41% of Guineans can read and write (52% of men and just 30% of women), only around 40% of Guinean children will ever attend school. Why? Their parents can’t afford to pay for school equipment, books or bus fares. When faced with children’s education and food for the family – they choose the latter.
One of such children is Alfaomar, a 10-year-old who lived his entire childhood on the streets. He spent the days begging for money to avoid punishment from his older brother, while at night he had to fight for a place to sleep among other beggars in the local market.
When he was brought to an orphanage, he started going to school. It turned out that he is a very intelligent and quick learner. In just two months he learned to communicate in French. Although he initially fell behind his classmates, he has managed to catch up with them. He doesn’t want to return to the streets. He wants to keep learning so that he doesn’t ever have to wander in the streets, beg for money or run away.
One textbook costs just five zlotys, and it can be shared by five students, who will use it to learn to read and write.
The title of the World Book Capital is leaving Wrocław and moving to Conakry, the capital city of Guinea. Alongside the title, Wrocław dwellers want to donate 100,000 textbooks for learning to read and write.
When Wrocław became the UNESCO World Book Capital on 23 April, 2016, Mayor of Wrocław Rafał Dutkiewicz and UNESCO’s Deputy-Secretary General Eric Falt declared that Wrocław in cooperation with UNESCO would donate 100,000 textbooks to children of Conakry.
This decision was made for several reasons.
Guinea is a country with one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world. Its citizens use over a dozen tribal languages. French, the official language of the country which is used to communicate with all the citizens, cannot be learnt at home, only at school. Finally, Guinea has recently suffered an epidemic of ebola and has not yet overcome the trauma. This fact also influenced the decision to present Conakry with the title of UNESCO World Book Capital, which was stressed by UNESCO Secretary-General Irina Bokova when she talked of symbolically lifting the “ebola curse” from Guinea.
Wrocław will donate the textbooks in a systemic way, in cooperation with the Guinean Ministry of Education and Fighting Illiteracy. These will be 100,000 copies of a certified French language textbook for grade one students in Conakry. The original textbook will also include a dozen Polish nursery rhymes translated into French.
“We could simply transfer the title, but we also want to do something for Guinea,” said Karolina Bieniek of the Art Transparent Foundation, who coordinates the project. “We would like to donate 100,000 textbooks to the children of Conakry, which will be used for the next five years. In this way, we will help 500,000 pupils in Guinea. This support means that they will be able to learn to read and write.”
The Municipality of Wrocław has joined the initiative. “The textbook’s cover was designed by a pupil from Wrocław. Municipal institutions are also involved in the collection of money,” said Ewa Gołąb-Nowakowska, head of the Office for International Cooperation at the Municipality of Wrocław. “We need 500,000 zlotys to have the textbooks printed. We encourage all inhabitants of Wrocław to support the action.”
Because a new National Library will soon open in Conakry and the existing collection is very small, Wrocław as the UNESCO World Book Capital 2016 will appeal to the inhabitants of the city, the inhabitants of cities belonging to the Coalition of Cities of European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016, the inhabitants of Wrocław’s twin city of Lille, the inhabitants of Mons – European Capital of Culture 2015, and, with the assistance of the university chaplaincy service, to students in Paris, to donate books in French in order to create the collection of the new National Library of Guinea in Conakry.
We are also working on adapting Polish software so that it can be used to catalogue the collection of the new library.
Let’s together provide literary works to reading rooms in Conakry!
Project schedule:
24 April – symbolic transfer of the title and the first textbook
23 April – 15 August – ordering production, print and distribution
6 February – 15 September – collection of money and books, signing agreements with partners and sponsors
1 October – donating textbooks to schools
The competition of Wrocław students for the design of the textbook for children in Conakry, Guinea, has been adjudicated!
In February 2017, the city of Wrocław and the Art Transparent Foundation announced a competition of Wrocław students for the design of the textbook for children in Conakry, Guinea.
The competition was open to Wrocław primary school students in grades 4-6 as well as students of middle and secondary schools. A total of 774 votes were cast to choose the best of the 66 submitted designs. The winning design was prepared by a student of School and Preschool Complex no. 19 in Januszowicka Street.
The winning design shows maps of Poland and Guinea, a handshake of solidarity of people from the two countries, letters (symbolising the textbook) and the Town Hall in Wrocław (one of its most recognisable symbols). It will be printed on the covers of 100,000 textbooks that will be used by children in Africa to learn to read and write. The books will be printed as a result of the action “Books for Guinea”, which is organised by the city of Wrocław and the Art Transparent Foundation. The collection of money needed to provide Guinean children with the textbooks is still in progress. The books will be sent to Conakry, the capital of Guinea, which will become the UNESCO World Book Capital after Wrocław. The transfer of the title will take place on 23 April while the textbooks will be given to children in the autumn, when the new school year begins.
The students who designed the three covers that received the greatest number of votes will be presented with all-day family tickets to the aquapark in Wrocław.
Thanks to the action “Books for Guinea” we have managed to raise PLN 168,573.05. Over 500 people and institutions from all over Poland have contributed to this huge amount. It will enable us to purchase 33,714 coursebooks. In order to fulfil our objective and buy 100,000 books, the rest of the money will be provided by UNESCO, World Capital of Culture Sharjah 2019 (EUR 30,000 in total) and the municipality of Wrocław. Already this autumn children in Conakry will be using brand new coursebooks.
THE ACTION “BOOKS FOR GUINEA” HAS COME TO AN END!
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
