We have incredible news to share with you.

Since our founding in 1998, Biblionef South Africa has distributed 2,027,101 home language and English books to schools and children’s organisations across South Africa.

This isn’t just our milestone, it’s yours. Every single book in that number represents your belief in our mission, your generosity, and your commitment to ensuring that every South African child has access to quality reading material in their home language and English.

What does 2 million books actually look like?

It’s hard to wrap your mind around a number that big. So let me tell you what we’ve seen.

It’s a rural school in Limpopo with shelves that are no longer empty. It’s a Grade R learner in the Eastern Cape discovering their first isiXhosa picture book. It’s a teacher in KwaZulu-Natal who can finally teach reading using isiZulu materials instead of struggling with English-only resources.

It’s a community library in the North West that now feels alive and used. It’s a child who discovered that reading isn’t something to dread, it’s something that opens up their world.

We’ve seen that shift happen again and again. A teacher, parent, sibling, or caregiver reads a story aloud. A child listens, laughs, and asks questions. Over time, something changes. Reading begins to feel familiar. Safe. Possible.

How we got here

Twenty-seven years ago, we started with a simple vision: every child in South Africa deserves access to quality books that reflect their language, culture, and experiences.

Since then, we’ve reached schools and organisations in all nine provinces. We’ve distributed books in South Africa’s 11 languages and Braille. We’ve partnered with incredible organisations that share our vision. And we’ve witnessed thousands of children transform from reluctant readers into confident, engaged learners.

We’ve built sustainable libraries in communities that had nothing. We’ve worked with teachers who are doing extraordinary things with limited resources. And we’ve learned that when you put the right book in a child’s hands, at the right time, in the right language, magic happens.

None of this would have been possible without you.

The work continues

Reaching 2 million books is something we’re incredibly proud of. But honestly? It also reminds us how much work is still ahead.

There are still classrooms without libraries, children who’ve never seen a book in their mother tongue and teachers working miracles with minimal resources. We’re committed to reaching them.

As we move forward, we’re focused on expanding our reach and deepening our impact. There are communities we haven’t served yet, languages we need more books in, and children waiting for us to show up.

Thank you

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being part of this journey.

Whether you’ve donated once or many times, partnered with us on projects, or supported our work in other ways, you have helped place books into children’s hands.

That is something to be proud of.

Here’s to the next chapter, and to the futures we’re building together, one book at a time.

With deep gratitude,

Sunitha Amod
Executive Director, Biblionef SA