Inman Students, Neighbors Collect Books for Ghana Library

Children typically take things such as books and libraries for granted. But Frankie Clarke, a 6th grader at , knows how lucky she is to have access to unlimited reading material.

Her older brother, Zack Mancuso, is in Ghana serving in the Peace Corps. Her brother says his village, Tali, is a beautiful village in the northern part of Ghana, but it is very small and lacks resources.

Frankie and her mother, Laura Salazar, along with neighbors in Virginia-Highland, decided to help him start a library in his village.

“The idea of creating this library for kids over there who will so appreciate it is an amazing feeling. And it's so easy to do,” Salazar said.

They are working with The African Library Project, a nonprofit that brings gently used books to African communities that have lots of eager readers but very few books.

"It's emptying your kids old books and dropping them off and donating a couple bucks,” Salazar said. “It’s that simple for us to make a difference. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

They will be creating a library for kids where there is no bookstore or library; a lot of the kids in the village can't go to school because their families can’t pay.

“Zack tells me the kids over there are really excited,” Salazar said. “He found the space he's going to use for the library and just needs to raise the funds for bookshelves and transportation. Even one book or five dollars makes a difference."

The new library will need paperback books at pre-school through 8th grade reading levels. 

Schools and churches around the neighborhood have opened their doors to donors. Books can be dropped off at , , or .

Money can be donated on the The African Library Project website.

If you have loads and loads of books, Laura is happy to help collect them from you. Simply email her at lfsalaz@emory.edu.