Nigeria Reads Initiative is a non-governmental organization (NGO) aimed at mobilizing the latent educational opportunities in communities through the establishment of community libraries and literacy programs across Nigeria.
This vision came about in 2013, when the two co-founders, Kingsley Sintim and Ojeh Bikwa had conversations on ways they can improve their communities, having both recently graduated from the university. Ojeh, highly cerebral and a graduate of Amherst College, Massachusetts, US and Kingsley, a lifelong lover of books and avid reader set about the important project, Tasha Community Library, that gave birth to Nigeria Reads in February 2014.
Nigeria Reads operates in rural settlements, informal urban settlements like slums or low-income urban residential areas, and most recently, in urban spaces. We’ve established libraries which are located in Ikarasong community in Akwa –Ibom State, Karasuwa Community Library in Karasuwa, Yobe State and Tasha Community Library in Abuja, all serving thousands of young people who are now engaged in their leisure time through reading and the innovative programs we operate, such as the Abuja Science and Community Resource Center (ASCRC) a stem-based critical thinking skills program, and GLOW clubs, amongst others. Recently, we partnered with Tofboi Barbershop to pair a bookstore and a book drive campaign to encourage young boys to read and foster literacy in the urban space.