Recycling Books
Well my idea is pretty simple. A lot of us have books we used at various levels of our education in the Nigerian education system. In the end of every phase we,
1. Pass it down to your sibling
2. Put it away in the family library (the store)
3. Get rid of it (Burn or Trash it)
This programme is not for those in the first category, its for the rest where these books are not given to someone who needs it.
What this program will do is to collate books in the community especially from children of the rich who are moving to new classes/grades or done using a particular book(s), then giving same to people from poor homes who need these books and whose the familys\’ priority is food on the table (not some damn books). Books gotten through this medium can also be donated to the library of schools who cannot afford to buy the same.
This is programme can be used to limit the excuses that the parents give when asked \”Why is your child not in school?\”
We\’ll in a way reduce carbon emission from books burning, reduce the amount of wastes per day of some families, educate the population and most importantly help the needy.
Adetunji Eleso on Oct 10, 2011
Excellent idea. Have been looking for what to do with the hordes of books i have no need for. Easy to implement too. The books would be cataloged and re-bound etc. as required and donated to the schools/individuals who are most in need.
Ajibola on Oct 12, 2011
Sounds good, so who will be knocking on the doors ?
udeze kene on Oct 14, 2011
Lol.. Well we won’t need to knock on doors. We can simply provide collection centers/points in places where people will normally go to say ( Shoprite { lekki & surulere } , Ozone, Silverbird, KFC, Mama Cass, Genesis Deluxe) etc.
People go there, drop the books probably get an armband that says “I just shared my wealth” or anything interesting. Also put up a form for basic stuff ( Name, no, e-mail,tel, unique story) if they are interested to fill it.
The unique story is the key element cause i believe we all have special reasons why we decide to do good things. So those stories can be shared in our online portal & also with the kids/people who are beneficiaries of this program, encouraging them to do good always.
Also people/businesses can support this program and provide incentives to donors (movie tickets, meal vouchers, discount cards)…no matter how little it may be, people always appreciate free stuff or gifts no matter how small
vincent bioseh on Oct 14, 2011
Nice 1 Kene, you are simply a genious!!! + its not for profit, with a 100 yous in Nigeria, we will sky rocket to the promise land. GOD bless you! GOD bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!
Oluwole Olarewaju on Oct 15, 2011
Good idea…
femilonge on Oct 15, 2011
A great collection point is banking halls of a heavy network bank i.e. UBA or First Bank…
People can donate money to support distribution and rebinding…
Ade Sofola on Oct 17, 2011
This is a great idea but I wonder whether people would find it cumbersome – why would I take y child’s old books to a bank, shopping mall etc for donation? Would it not be easier to target private schools and encourage them to donate books at the end of term so that they can be given to children in public/ state schools? Also I wonder whether you could get a partnership with a couple of bookstores: people could donate a small percentage to this project and you could use the money to buy books for local libraries and schools. Bookstores could deliberately cost books at awkward prices like N1898 and the change could be donated to this project? You could then buy new books from local publishers and support the development of the sector.
Adetunji Eleso on Oct 17, 2011
Ade – a multi phronged approach has to be adopted for it to be very effective. I would take books to a collection point to donate. We can also get private schools to give books and get major publishers/bookstores to donate.
In all it increases the volume of books available.
As long as its community driven, i.e. people in the community are made to understand the import of the project, it should garner a lot of support and promote comraderie and a sense of togetherness. Am sure in a lot of communities there are public schools who need these books, so getting community heads, religious bodies, NGOs etc all involved should hopefully generate enough buzz to make it effective.
Good suggestions though!!!
udeze kene on Oct 17, 2011
Great suggestion Ade, yes its very possible we take the campaign to the private schools. Also the bookstore thing is simply brilliant, i’ve been thinking of how to get bookstores interested (them existing for profit) the pricing thing will greatly interest customers once they know what the wierd pricing is for.
Yes Adetunji multiprongued approch is the way to go. Public collection points and direct contact/collection from the private schools. I believe communities will support this project
Amen & thank you Vincent. God bless you & to everyone who has viewed, voted, commented & added to this idea, God will bless your hustle. In the words of Vincent “we will sky rocket
to the promise land…GOD bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!”
Kathleen Ndongmo on Nov 18, 2011
Udeze, your idea is timely and cost-effective. It is also very easy to implement with a great chance of success and sustainability. I have a lot to add to make it more strategic if you would like a discussion. I could also send you a one-page brief if you like. Well done!
udeze kene on Nov 19, 2011
Thanks. Sure i would love that. Will send you my e-mail via twitter
akintunde disu on Nov 19, 2011
i think you will find there is already a very efficient system for recycling books economically , just because you throw it away doesnt mean it ends up in the landfill watch “welcome to lagos” our cities are full of second hand book stalls
udeze kene on Nov 19, 2011
I wouldn’t use the words ‘economical’ & ‘efficient’ to describe the system you presented. Yes there exists shops where you can buy second hand books but then what condition do those books come in? i don’t think good. I have seen ‘Welcome to Lagos’ and i’m a fan of Vocal Slender. I can’t see anyone digging up books from the dirt-dumps portrayed in Welcome to Lagos.
The system I’m proposing & WE are developing here will function better than the one by guys at the second hand bookshops; The books when collected will be refurbished(if need be) and given to people who need them, donate to libraries etc. Don’t forget that these books are NOT FOR SALE and frankly i don’t think there’s anything more economical than FREE.
KennethGeorgeK on Nov 22, 2011
Hmmm Nice one….
Sogbesan Oluwaseun on Dec 12, 2011
“Bookshare…i just turned it Over”
bade adesemowo on Feb 06, 2012
Fela Durotoye’s Visible Impact has been working on something similar for the past 2 years . It is called Raise 1 million Books. You can check Project raise’s website.