An Update from the Babade Learning Center

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Back in February, we shared an exciting milestone for the Babade Learning Center: 16 boxes of books were making their way from Lomé to Babade.

The books were part of a larger shipment organized by Friends of Togo through Books for Africa. Alafia helped make sure a portion of that shipment reached the Babade Learning Center by supporting two community members — Mike, the center’s volunteer librarian, and Essohana, president of the local CVD — as they traveled to Lomé to collect the books and bring them home to Babade. Before their arrival, the center had only about 15 books available to the community.

Now, several months later, we’re excited to share a simple but meaningful update:

The books are there, the center is open, and people are reading them.

We recently spoke with Mike, the volunteer librarian who continues to help care for the Babade Learning Center. He confirmed that the books are safely inside the center and are being used by members of the community.

For us, this is what makes updates like this so important. Delivering books is only the first step. What really matters is what happens afterward — whether those books make it onto shelves, whether the center remains accessible, and most importantly, whether people actually use them.

Building a Place to Learn

The Babade Learning Center originally began as a Peace Corps small-grant project and was created to provide a dedicated place for learning in a community where access to books and educational resources is limited.

Our long-term vision is to continue building on what is already there. We want the center to be a place where children can discover books, students can study, and community members have access to resources that might otherwise be difficult to find.

Seeing Mike standing with the books months after their arrival is a small reminder of why long-term community partnerships matter. We don't simply want to deliver resources and move on. We want to stay connected, hear how things are going, understand what is working and what is needed next, and continue supporting the people who are making the center function day to day.

Thank You for Helping Us Get Here

We are incredibly grateful to Friends of Togo, Books for Africa, the donors who supported the shipment, Mike, Essohana, and everyone in Babade who helped get these books where they needed to go. The original shipment was made possible through the work and generosity of many people and organizations.

Alafia hopes to continue improving the Babade Learning Center and expanding the resources available there. As a new nonprofit, we depend on donations to help us continue projects like this and respond to priorities identified by our community partners.

If you'd like to help us continue supporting the Babade Learning Center and our other projects in Togo, please consider making a donation.