Social Impact Projects

2025-2026

Project: Read to Rise (Books for Africa: Namibia)

Project Manager: Thomas Thomas

Description:   Read to Rise is the 2025–2026 SoAfrSPM Social Impact Project.  The project focuses on expanding access to books and strengthening a culture of reading across Namibia. Through a partnership with Books for Africa, the world’s largest shipper of donated books to the African continent, SoAfrSPM aims to import, catalog, and distribute at least 25,000 books to under-resourced schools, community centers, and emerging libraries.

Many schools in Namibia do not have a functional library. In some cases, learners share outdated books or have no age-appropriate reading material at all. Read to Rise is designed to change that.

Our work includes:

• Delivering books where the need is greatest, especially in rural and underserved regions.

• Helping schools and communities establish safe, sustainable library spaces.

• Supporting teachers with reading resources that strengthen English literacy and academic confidence.

• Providing older learners with access to subject-specific materials in math, science, health, and vocational areas to support educational and career readiness.

This project is an investment in human capital. When a learner has access to books, they are more likely to read, more likely to persist in school, and more likely to build a future where choice, not circumstance, defines opportunity.

Dates: 8 November to 31 July 2026

Related SDG Goals:

• SDG 4 – Quality Education.  Goal: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.  Read to Rise increases access to learning materials, from early readers to post-secondary texts, so that learners can practice literacy, explore subjects, and study independently. Access to relevant books directly improves reading fluency, comprehension, academic performance, and exam readiness.

• SDG 10 – Reduced Inequality. Goal: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.  Educational inequality grows when some schools have rich learning environments and others have none. By supplying books and helping establish libraries in underserved communities, Read to Rise addresses resource gaps between urban and rural schools and between well-funded institutions and those that have been historically overlooked. Greater access to educational resources creates a pathway to greater social and economic mobility.

How You Can Support:  You can be part of this work in several meaningful ways:

1. Join the Run for Social Impact Team.  Become one of the ten (10) dedicated runners participating in a 10k, half-marathon, or full-marathon in  March 2026 in Swakopmund. Each runner commits to raising NAD 10,000, which contributes to our overall goal of NAD 100,000 for the Read to Rise project. SoAfrSPM will cover transport, accommodation, registration, and provide structured training. Prefer cheering instead of running? You can also join our Cheer Team to support and motivate the runners along the route. This is a powerful way to combine personal fitness with meaningful community impact.  Learn more about the Run for Social Impact Team.

2. Sponsor a Library.  Help a school or community center set up a secure reading space with shelves, labeling, and age-appropriate books.

3. Support Shipment and Logistics.  Each container of ~25,000 books must be packed, shipped, cleared, and distributed. Financial contributions directly fund transport and distribution to schools in Namibia.

4. Volunteer (Namibia).  Support book sorting, labeling, and basic cataloging once the books arrive. We especially welcome teachers, university students, librarians, and community leaders.

5. Refer a School.  If you represent a school or community space in Namibia that could benefit from books (especially one without an existing library) please contact the project team to request a beneficiary assessment form.

6. Amplify the Project.  Share Read to Rise with friends, institutions, and organizations that believe in education equity. Awareness helps us reach partners, sponsors, and future reading champions.

2024-2025

Project: Promising Pages Children's Book Drive

Project Manager: Tengovandu Virore

Description:   On World Case Teaching Day (5 February 2025), SoAfrSPM proudly launched our latest case study: Libraries Without Walls: Scaling the Promising Pages Pilot Initiative (PPPI). In alignment with the themes explored in this case, we initiated the Promising Pages Children's Book Drive—a one-month campaign aimed at collecting children’s books that reflect Namibian and African stories to support childhood literacy through the Promising Pages Pilot Initiative (PPPI).  The goal is to collect 70 children's books that reflect Namibian and African stories to support childhood literacy through PPPI.   Literacy is a gateway to economic opportunity, education, and empowerment. By providing access to culturally relevant books, we help shape a future where children see themselves in the stories they read and develop a lifelong love for learning.

Dates: 5 February to 5 March 2025

Related SDG Goals:

• SDG 1 – No Poverty. Goal: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.  Literacy improves economic opportunities, employment prospects, and financial stability. Low literacy levels contribute to cycles of poverty, limiting access to education and better-paying jobs.

• SDG 4 – Quality Education.  Goal: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.  Literacy is a fundamental skill that empowers individuals, enables access to better opportunities, and improves overall quality of life.

How You Can Support:  We invite supporters to join us in this effort by donating children's books, contributing financially to the book fund, or helping spread awareness about the book drive.