Bücher 2014

This is how you move a whole lot of textbooks: Tadesse Asmelash, an Ethiopian volunteer, helping transport them. The books came from Denmark’s Technical University, the Faculty of Health Sciences and the former Faculty of Life Sciences

Volunteer student initiative has successfully shipped used textbooks to Ethiopian universtities for a second time. Now reaching even more libraries throughout the country

by Lena Rutkowski

Last year the University Post reported on the the challenges facing a student initiative to send a second phase of used books from The University of Copenhagen to newly established universities in Ethiopia.
After much coordination, organiser Fikadu Reta Alemayehu now reports that a second, larger round of textbooks has been distributed amongst

Ethiopian Universities.
The initiative started in 2012 when the University of Copenhagen announced that it would burn excess books no longer required by the Humanities Library. The controversial book burning plan was subsequently stopped following government intervention. But Fikadu, then a life sciences Student in Copenhagen, was with fellow students inspired to organise shipments of used books to Hawassa University in his homeland.

Four universities
While the first shipment arrived at one university in South Ethiopia, the second shipment contained even more donated books and was distributed amongst three public universities in other parts of the country.
Wachamo University received 168 books, while Mezin-Tepi University and Wolaita Sodo University each received 154. The considerable number of book donations also meant the transport cost was higher. Fikadu, now a teacher, reports that the shipment from Denmark to Ethiopia took place via the Ethopian Embassy in Frankfurt.
According to the Facebook group, the second shipment involved eight boxes with a total weight of 390 kgs.
“I think, so far for both first and second phase shipping of books, we paid a total of more than DKK 15,000 for transporting the books to Ethiopia. We fundraised about DKK 7,000 on Facebook from Ethiopians in Denmark,” he says.

Last year the University Post reported on the the challenges facing a student initiative to send a second phase of used books from The University of Copenhagen to newly established universities in Ethiopia.
After much coordination, organiser Fikadu Reta Alemayehu now reports that a second, larger round of textbooks has been distributed amongst

Ethiopian Universities.
The initiative started in 2012 when the University of Copenhagen announced that it would burn excess books no longer required by the Humanities Library. The controversial book burning plan was subsequently stopped following government intervention. But Fikadu, then a life sciences Student in Copenhagen, was with fellow students inspired to organise shipments of used books to Hawassa University in his homeland.
Four universities
While the first shipment arrived at one university in South Ethiopia, the second shipment contained even more donated books and was distributed amongst three public universities in other parts of the country.
Wachamo University received 168 books, while Mezin-Tepi University and Wolaita Sodo University each received 154. The considerable number of book donations also meant the transport cost was higher. Fikadu, now a teacher, reports that the shipment from Denmark to Ethiopia took place via the Ethopian Embassy in Frankfurt.
According to the Facebook group, the second shipment involved eight boxes with a total weight of 390 kgs.
“I think, so far for both first and second phase shipping of books, we paid a total of more than DKK 15,000 for transporting the books to Ethiopia. We fundraised about DKK 7,000 on Facebook from Ethiopians in Denmark,” he says.