Sandburg Students Collect Nearly 1k Books For Library In Africa

ORLAND PARK, IL — Four high school students just "doing their part" have collected over 1,000 books going door-to-door, asking libraries for donations and donating books themselves, to help create a library for a primary school in Botswana, a country in Southern Africa.

The students have formed a group called Alliance For African Education, which is made up of Joseph Dajani, Sean Ibrahimian, Omar Abdel-Reheem and Tomas Harbut— All current or former students at District 230's Carl Sandburg High School, in Orland Park. The four's inspiration behind the start of the project — in partnership with the African Library Project — came after watching videos on the lack of educational resources in parts of Africa, during a school lecture.

"We thought 'How can we help them?' And then we said the best way to help would be to increase the quality of the education that students have there. So we got a bunch of books together, and we looked up what we could do with them. Then we learned about the African Library Project," Dajani said. "That's when we came up with the idea and the Alliance For African Education was created."

The alliance said their goal is to supply underprivileged communities in Africa — where education may not be available — with the resources they need to create schools, libraries and more. The action is what the group describes as the "first step to a better future," in the communities they are donating to.

"We've just been going door-to-door, on social media, and we've been talking to libraries, which have donated books to us," Dajani said. "So far we have about 900. We're getting close to hitting our goal ... it's been about three weeks since we've started collecting the books."

The Crestwood Public Library has donated nearly 100 books to the alliance, and says they plan to donate more.

"Literacy is important for everyone. And if there are books that we aren't going to use, why not donate them to someone who could use them," said Debbie Fisher, head of Youth Services at the Crestwood Public Library. "It's a worthy cause and everyone should have the opportunity to have a book in their hand."

The alliance is still collecting book donations to send out by Mar. 1. Due to shipping costs, the group has set up a GoFundMe account, looking to raise $500 to cover expenses. As of Tuesday afternoon, the group has raised $165 for shipping. To donate, visit the GoFundMe page, here.

Those interested in donating books can do so by visiting the Alliance For African Education website and send a message to the group under the "contact us" tab. Further instructions will follow.

The alliance hopes to create other projects in the future, such as organizing school supply drives, sending what is received to other areas in the continent as well. For now, Dajani said the group is focusing on helping create a library.

Visit the Alliance For African Education for more information.