Books take you places. To distant lands and strange cultures, with people you would never come across in your day to day life. They open your eyes to the world, they widen your perspective. And for many, they’re a do-it-your-own learning method to teach yourself things like businesses, art history, even mathematics.
But for many living in the city of Bukavu, where the Asili head office is located, books aren’t always readily available. “Good books are hard to find here,” says Abraham, Asili’s Country Director. “But people are always looking to learn, in any way they can.”
So for Day 304, we’re focusing in on the Asili team in Bukavu, and kickstarting their very own in-office library. 
We grabbed some classics – like the Count of Monte Cristo and Pride and Prejudice – and some new fiction, too. We also purchased business books, history books, atlases, and more. We set them all up on a bookshelf, added some finishing touches, and voila, a library was born.
When the library was revealed, one team member in particular was incredibly excited. “Wow, this is so amazing,” said Fiston, who is a guard and general grounds assistant. His eyes lit up when he saw all the books that were now available to him. “I can read any of these?” he asked. And when we told him that he could, he looked carefully through each book, handling them like they were made of gold.
The rest of the team was excited too, and quickly began thinking of ways to make the library even better. “We should add numbers to each book, and a checkout log, so that we always know when a book is out,” said Pascaline, our administrative assistant. “Oh and let’s add the Asili logo to each one too!”
Sparking this much joy didn’t take much. But now, the team has a library which while small, will grow in time. They’ll have access to worlds and ways of thinking that they never had before. What a difference a day can make!
