Sunderland lecturer sends thousands of books to African students

Dr Elewechi Okike launched Book Aid for Africa in 2007, providing a reading lifeline to hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty.

Now Dr Okike, a former accountancy lecturer at Sunderland University, looked on with pride as her latest shipment of books was sent off to Mountain Top University in Nigeria.

The Washington mum-of-four, who is also known for writing books including, ‘How I stood up to cancer,’ was delighted to see the books set off on their journey from the charity’s warehouse on Lombard Street in Sunderland.

She said: “This shipment of books is going to a new university in Nigeria called Mountain Top University, as we are helping to furnish the library for this young institution.

“We sent over 200 boxes containing over 10,000 books to the university.

“Three volunteers and members of the donation team worked to pack up the boxes containing books on a variety of different subjects.”

Dr Okike, who originally comes from Nigeria, decided to set up the charity nearly ten years ago to address the need for books in Africa.

Since its launch, the charity has sent thousands of books for people at all stages of reading in countries across Africa.

She added: “The latest shipment contains both second hand and new books, many of which have been donated by people who have contacted us.

“In September, I visited Nigeria and went to a couple of institutions to see the impact of our work.

“They were all over the moon and very appreciative of our donations.

“This latest university will also be delighted to get this donation.”

To make a donation, visit www.bookaidforafrica.com