Discover Our Accomplishments in Uganda
Discover Uganda's library triumphs with Books For Development. From West Nile to Southern Uganda, and even within prisons, these libraries are empowering communities through education and opportunity.
Summary of Libraries in Uganda
Please Note: **Asterisks denote book donations to an existing library, while their absence signifies the establishment of a new library.
Click on the underlined items below to view individual libraries and further information about each category.
1. The West Nile Region
Books for Development helped establish and remains in contact with over 100 significant libraries throughout the West Nile region.
Adjumani District (1)
• Adjumani District Library
Arua District (23)
• Arivu Community Library
• Arua Institute of Health Science
• Arua Islamic Nursery and Primary School
• Arua Prison Primary School
• Arua Secondary School
• Arua Women’s Empowerment
• Bugema University*
• Christ the King Church*
• Manibe Secondary School
• Mini-max Nursery School
• Mvarra Secondary School
• Muni Girls Secondary School
• Muslim Primary School
• Muni University*
• Nile University*
• Omugo
• Pajulu Community Library
• Palm Tree Primary and Nursery School
• Ragem Technical Institute*
• Rice Insitute
• St Joseph’s College-Ombachi*
• St Philip’s Church
• Zion Methodist Primary School
Koboko District (12)
• Mother’s Care Nursery and Primary School
• Mindrabe Primary School
• Ombachi Primary School
• Leiko Primary School
• Teremuga Primary School
• Anyakalio Primary School
• Ayume Memorial Secondary School
• Millenium Secondary School
• Ombachi Secondary School
• Abele Primary
• Eden Jr School
• Golden Eden Secondary
Maracha District (3)
• Maracha School of Nursing and Midwifery
• Anne Nehma Memorial International Health Science Institute
• Oluvu Rainbow
Moyo District (1)
• Moyo Public Library
Nebbi District (6)
• Acres of Hope Nursery School
• Erussi
• St Augustine Secondary School
• Nebbi Town Secondary School
• Koch Awinga Secondary School Library
• St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School
Obongi District (3)
• Obongi Community Library
• Rhino Camp Secondary School
• Rhino Camp Subcounty
Okollo Community (1)
• Okollo Community
Pakwach District (16)
• The Library of the African Nile, Pakwach
• Ajibu Primary School
• Alwii Elementary School
• Ogenda Girls Secondary School
• Owiny Primary School
• Pajobi Primary School and School for the Blind
• Pakwach Girls
• Pakwach Modern School
• Pakwach Secondary School
• Parambo Community Library
• Panyimur Community Library
• Panyimur Primary School
• Paroketo Secondary School
• Wadelai Community Library
• Wangkawa Primary School
• Youth Empowerment Centre
The Library of the African Nile: Books for Development’s largest single project was the Library of the African Nile, opened on April 1, 2023. The Library is in Pakwach, Uganda on the Nile and pays tribute to the world’s greatest river and the African people who have lived along it for millennia. The library contains 20,000 volumes, a large children’s library, a chess club, and sections on African stories, African animals, Women’s Empowerment, local culture and languages, murals depicting the story of Gippir and Labongo (a story of the division between the Alur and Acholi tribes), the Nile and its wildlife and a special 230 square foot map of the Nile River with 225 pictorial elements explaining cultural, historical and wildlife facts about each part of the Nile and surrounding countries.
Yumbe District (4)
• Imvepi Secondary School (a newly established school for South Sudanese refugees)
• Pastor Moses Taban’s Library
• Yumbe District Library
The Lodonga Library: The Lodonga Basilica, found in the West Nile’s Yumbe District, is the site of one of the largest libraries that Books for Development has created and is presently actively working on improving. Aside from being the site for a very large basilica, the same community also supports a nunnery, a school for catechists, a separate order of priests, a technical school, a secondary school and several elementary schools. All of these institutions make use of the library.
Zombo District (24)
• Agiermach Junior Technical School
• Alangi Secondary School
• Aluka Secondary School
• Bethel Primary School, Zeu
• Jangokoro Seed Secondary School
• Jubilant Canaan Junior School
• Life Concern CBO, Paidha
• Logiri Community Library
• Nyapea College*
• Nyapea Hospital Library
• Ora Technical Institute
• Oturgang Boy’s, Paidha
• Oturgang Girl’s, Paidha
• Paidha Primary Teachers College*
• Paidha Public library*
• Paidha Secondary School
• Pakadha Seed Secondary School
• Read Centre
• Saint Daniel Secondary School, Zombo
• Saint John Paul, Kango
• Warr Girls Secondary School
• Zeu Health Centre Library
• Zeu Secondary School
• Zombo District Library
From 2011-2015 a large-scale distribution of books was made to all Zombo District schools. This involved several hundred books being given to each of the schools in the Zombo District (approximately 130), thereby creating less standardized libraries at each. Over the same period, the “Zombo Knowledge Trail” involved the creation of 25 Book Boxes that circulate amongst schools in the Zombo District.
Refugee Camp Book Box Projects
Unrest in the new nation of South Sudan had for a period established the West Nile as the largest concentration of refugee camps in the world. In many cases, refugees were forced to flee in the middle of the night without any possessions and Books for Development helped establish 100 book boxes, containing many leveled readers to serve as materials to promote literacy and education. This project was undertaken in conjunction with the Windle Trust and United Nations and the book boxes involved are circulating in the Palorinya, Imvepi, Rhino Camp and Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement Camps (South Sudanese Refugees) and Padrombu Secondary School in Lobule Refugee Settlement (Congolese Refugees).
Additionally, a special Tree Planting Mobile Library was also established in conjunction with Mr. Bidal Abraham, a South Sudanese refugee in the Omogu Refugee Settlement Camp.
Health Care Careers Book Box Project
We are presently working on the establishment of book boxes which contain a rich collection of health, medicine and anatomy books that pique students’ interest in careers in health—exactly what every developing country badly needs. With our latest shipment, we have sent out book boxes that will be accompanied by associated curriculum developed by local High School “Whiz Kids” working with Books for Development.
Experimenting with book boxes in the Zombo District, we circulated a box with a few health, medicine and anatomy books and this prompted a Head master to exclaim:
“Whenever a book box comes with those kind of books—all our kids can do is talk about becoming doctors and nurses.”
We are hoping to begin documenting the impact of these book boxes and trying to get a large number of such boxes circulating.
The Winkler Women’s Empowerment Book Box Project
A set of a dozen book boxes devoted to empowering girls and young women has been established and is, as of the Fall of 2023 being deployed in the West Nile. These book boxes will be circulated to Girl’s schools and schools with significant female student bodies to provide education, inspiration and encouragement. These libraries were created to honor of a special woman who has been the very embodiment of strength, heart and grace.
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2. Eastern Uganda
Collaborating with friends from Midland, Texas, Books for Development has shipped approximately 70,000 books to eastern Uganda, including especially communities around Mbale. This includes libraries in:
Eastern Uganda (29)
• Akisim Primary School
• Bartha Foundation Jr School
• Bukeda Teachers College Kachumbala
• Bukhumwa Primary school
• Bumaliro Primary School
• Bunamubi Primary school in Bududa
• Bushikori Primary School
• Butsongala Primary School
• Hope Jr. School
• Kabwangasi Primary School
• Kachabali Primary School
• Kachocha Primary School
• Kanginima Seed Secondary School
• Kanyumu Primary School
• Kibulah Islamic School
• Lerya Primary School
• Miroi/Sarah Joy Primary and Nursery School
• Nambi Sseppuuya Community Resource Centre (Jinja)*
• Nyondo Demonstration Primary School
• Nyondo Secondary School
• Odipanya Primary School
• Shalom Vocational
• St. Andrews Primary school, Wolukyera
• St. James Peter Primary School
• St. John Bosco Primary Teachers’ College, Nyondo
• St. Joseph Catholic Junior Primary school, Namashisyo
• St. Michael primary School, Kaamuli
• St. Peter’s Primary and Nursery
• St. Peters Secondary School
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3. Central Uganda
Entebbe / Kampala (3)
• Cherish Uganda’s Primary School, Entebbe*
• National Library of Uganda*
• Shaban Lataaya and Kids of Africa*
Kalangala District / Lake Victoria Islands (1)
• Book Box Project Lake Victoria Island Schools (20 circulating book boxes)
• Kalangala Island District Library
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (1)
Books for Development established a major library at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (Uganda’s national zoo) located in Entebbe. The occasion of the Zoo library’s opening was widely publicized and resulted in Books for Development making important contacts. See newvision.co for the full news article.
This was also the beginning of an ongoing special friendship and collaboration between UWEC and Books for Development that has since included collaboration on sharing books boxes, working together to promote classes on drawing African animals, assisting isolated schools on islands in Lake Victoria, working on larger conservation education libraries elsewhere in Uganda and ongoing work on projects at UWEC.
4. Southern Uganda
Kisoro, Bwindi, Mountain Gorilla Conservation (3)
As an outgrowth of its work with UWEC, Books for Development began working with the community of Kisoro, located near Bwindi National Park, the home of the world famous and greatly endangered Mountain Gorillas. This work has included the establishment of several primary and secondary school libraries, including Muganza Primary School, Kisoro Secondary School and Kisoro Primary School as well as the deployment of 30 book boxes emphasizing the gorillas and local wildlife to promote conservation.
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5. Northern Uganda
Murchison Falls National Park (2)
Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest park (3,893 square kilometers) and it is home to what many regard as the most powerful waterfall in the world, found on the Victoria Nile, which bisects the park from east to west. The park is also the home to an incredible collection of diverse wildlife, specifically 76 species of mammals (including elephants, Rostchild Giraffes, Uganda Kob, Chimpanzees), over 450 known species of birds (including the remarkable shoebill and the Goliath heron) and Uganda’s largest collection of Nile crocodiles.
Books for Development has previously created a library at and for the park and is working on an expanded version of the same, together with complementary museum features. Additionally, Books for Development in 2023 is completing a library at the Paraa Elementary School found inside the park.
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6. Ugandan Prisons
Ugandan Prisons (11)
Books for Development has found that the creation of libraries in Ugandan prisons is one of the most productive and rewarding of its activities. The rate of illiteracy among prisoners is high and yet many prisons have teachers or others who can serve as teachers of literacy. Libraries provide an excellent seed for the creation of classes among inmates. Prisons that Books for Development works with include:
Arua’s Men’s Prison
Arua’s Women’s Prison
Arua Remand Home Gili Gili
Nebbi Prison
Masindi Prison
Koboko Prison
Paidha Prison
Moyo Prison
Ragem Prison
Adjumani Prison
Yumbe Prison
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