UN brings e-readers to Tanzania

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working with Worldreader, a non-profit group, to give four secondary schools in Tanzania e-readers.

The e-readers will have books that are in both Swahili and English and will allow 2,300 students in two settlements with better access to reading material.

“This is truly a gift which will keep giving,” said Joyce Mends-Cole, a representative in Tanzania for the UNHCR. “It will increase literacy and expand mental and physical horizons – helping to provide quality education to large numbers of students. It will also enlarge choices for people who can now dream about greater possibilities. The impact for women and girls, in particular, is immeasurable.”

“At Worldreader we have demonstrated that access to digital books can significantly improve early grade literacy outcomes” said Colin McElwee, who one of Worldreader’s co-Founders. “We are proud to partner with UNHCR and to give some of the most vulnerable people in the world the opportunity to create a future for themselves and their families.”

Worldreader’s headquarters are located in San Francisco, and they also have e-reader initiatives going on in nine other African countries.

[via The Telegraph]