Our work

A small intervention with a long tail.

One library serves every pupil in the school, every year, for as long as it is maintained.

The case for action

Where classrooms are full, the missing piece is not enrolment.

Nigeria is in a learning crisis. Most children at age ten cannot read and understand a simple text.

26%
of children aged 7–14 have basic reading and maths skills
18m
children aged 5–14 are out of school nationally
5–8%
of government spending goes to education, against 15–20% recommended

Lagos makes the case with unusual clarity. Enrolment is strong: around 3% of primary-age children are out of school, far below the national figure.

The children are already in the classroom. What they lack is behind it.

School libraries are among the first things to go when budgets are stretched. Enrolment programmes will not close this gap. Reading resources will.

Sources: UNESCO, UNICEF (2024), and published Nigerian education statistics.

The programme

The five-part refurbishment package

Each school library we take on receives a complete refurbishment rather than a partial donation. Our standard intervention has five components.

  1. Component 01

    The space

    A room fit to read in.

    Flooring, ceiling, windows, lighting, ventilation, security, and wiring where it is needed.

  2. Component 02

    The furniture

    Built locally, repairable locally.

    Shelving, tables, chairs and storage, built locally so a broken chair is mended in an afternoon.

  3. Component 03

    The collection

    Books children want to read.

    Chosen with the school's teachers. Weighted towards Nigerian and African authors, plus reference and curriculum titles.

  4. Component 04

    The systems

    A catalogue the school can keep.

    A catalogue, a borrowing process and labelling the school can keep up without special software.

  5. Component 05

    The people

    A trained adult, and time to read.

    We train the staff member who will run it, help timetable reading periods, and come back.

The collection

What we actually put on the shelves.

Weighted towards Nigerian and African authors, including work in Yorùbá, Igbo and Hausa, so a child can find their own language on a shelf.

A sample of the list. Final selections are made with each school's teachers.

First readers

  • Anna HibiscusAtinuke
  • Chidi Only Likes BlueIfeoma Onyefulu
  • Chike and the RiverChinua Achebe
  • Eze Goes to SchoolOnuora Nzekwu

Confident readers

  • An African Night's EntertainmentCyprian Ekwensi
  • Weep Not, ChildNgũgĩ wa Thiong'o
  • Ògbójú Ọdẹ Nínú Igbó Irúnmalẹ̀D. O. FágúnwàYorùbá
  • OmenukoPita NwanaIgbo

Older pupils and reference

  • Shaihu UmarAbubakar Tafawa BalewaHausa
  • Things Fall ApartChinua Achebe
  • Purple HibiscusChimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • Aké: The Years of ChildhoodWole Soyinka
  • EfuruFlora Nwapa

How we work in Nigeria

No local entity. By design.

It keeps our governance, our accounting and our accountability in one jurisdiction, and puts delivery in the hands of people who live and work in the communities we serve.

  1. Step 01

    We vet a local partner

    An organisation or contractor with a verifiable record in that community.

  2. Step 02

    We sign a written agreement

    Scope, standards, reporting, and the conditions for releasing funds.

  3. Step 03

    Funds move in stages

    Transferred against agreed milestones, never as a single lump sum.

  4. Step 04

    Evidence comes back at every stage

    Receipts, photographs, inventory and progress reports.

  5. Step 05

    We verify

    Remotely as standard, and in person for a sample of projects.

  6. Step 06

    The decision stays with our board

    We retain authority over our resources at every point.

Theory of change

From a room to a reading habit.

  1. We invest in

    • Refurbished rooms
    • Furniture and shelving
    • Curated book stock
    • Trained library staff
    • Simple lending systems

  2. Which produces

    • Functioning, open libraries
    • Books children want to read
    • Scheduled reading periods
    • A responsible adult in place

  3. Which leads to

    • More books borrowed
    • More time spent reading
    • Reading habits formed
    • Teachers using the library in lessons

  4. Resulting in

    • Improved reading fluency and comprehension
    • Stronger academic outcomes
    • A resource the school sustains itself

What we measure

Whether children are reading more — not how many books we delivered.

Reach
Libraries refurbished; pupils with access; schools served.
Usage
Books borrowed per pupil; library visits per week; reading periods timetabled.
Learning
Reading fluency and comprehension, at baseline and at follow-up.
Equity
Participation by gender, with specific attention to girls' access.
Durability
Libraries still open, stocked and staffed at 12 and 24 months.
Stewardship
Cost per pupil; share of spending reaching delivery.

Our libraries

Every library, named — with what changed.

This is our transparency wall. Each school appears with its name, its location, its photographs, what we did and one specific result. It grows one school at a time.

First cohort in progress

Nothing here yet — and we will not put anything here until it is true.

We are selecting our first schools in Lagos. When one opens, its record appears here: the school, what we did, what it cost, what changed.

If this page is still empty in a year, that tells you something too.

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