By Carolyn Gannon, 

Equal to the excitement of reaching Uhuru — the summit of Kilimanjaro — on July 30th, was hearing the one thing that our Tanzanian guide, David Olotu, wanted the most from the America.  Books!  David loves to read, and books are not as available in Moshi, Tanzania, as they are here in the U.S.

As a Board Member for the African Library Project, I have decided to dedicate my recent Kilimanjaro climb to ALP and have raised over $3,700 in donations in the process.  These donations will go toward supporting literacy and the love of reading by creating and improving small libraries in Africa.  

My seven-day trek with friends up the Machame Route on Kilimanjaro was beautiful and rigorous and gave lots of opportunity for discussions with the Tanzanian crew who supported the climb.  It was very clear how literacy and education in general expands the horizons and interconnects the world.  Our guide, David, exemplified the benefits of reading and was brimming with pride in Tanzania with ideas and optimism about his future.  Although he has never traveled beyond the borders of his country, he was conversant  and interested in topics of a vast nature — mostly learned through books.  And, he wants to read much more.  Feeling his excitement toward books is wonderfully motivating to stretch the efforts of the African Library Project to more and more regions of Africa where books are a rare commodity.