A Canadian non-profit · Beginning in Lagos
Where every classroom has a library behind it.
The AVID Foundation refurbishes and restocks libraries in under-resourced Nigerian schools — and supports the teachers who bring them to life. We begin in Lagos.
Are you a school leader in Lagos? Apply for a library →
The need
The need
26%
of Nigerian children aged 7–14 have basic reading and numeracy skills.
UNICEF, 2024
Across Nigeria, and clearly so in Lagos, the effort to get children into classrooms is being won. The next is to get them reading — and to ensure that pupils whose families can't afford the required textbooks can borrow them from the library.
3%
Out-of-school rate at primary level in Lagos — far below the national figure. The children are already in the classroom.
5–8%
Of Nigerian government spending goes to education, against the 15–20% UNESCO recommends. School libraries are among the first things to disappear.
What they lack is behind the classroom. Read the full case for action →
What we do
Five parts. A library is not one of them — it is all five.
Books alone do not build readers. A room, a shelf, a trained adult and a timetable that gives children time to read — together, these build readers. Every school we take on receives the complete package, not a partial donation.
- 01
The space
A room fit to read in.
Repair and preparation of the room — flooring, ceiling, windows, lighting, ventilation, security and, where required, basic electrical work.
- 02
The furniture
Built locally, repairable locally.
Shelving, reading tables, chairs and storage, sourced and built locally wherever possible to support the local economy and simplify repair.
- 03
The collection
Books children want to read.
Age-appropriate books selected with the school, weighted towards Nigerian and African authors alongside international titles, plus reference and curriculum-support material.
- 04
The systems
A catalogue the school can keep.
A simple catalogue, a borrowing and returns process, labelling, and a record-keeping method the school can maintain without specialist software.
- 05
The people
A trained adult, and time to read.
Training for the teacher or staff member responsible for the library, guidance on timetabling reading periods, and a follow-up visit schedule.
Where we stand today
We publish the number before we have earned it.
A new organisation asking for money should show its books. These are our first-cohort goals and our verified progress against them, updated as each library opens.
0
Libraries refurbished
First cohort goal: 5
0
Pupils reached
First cohort goal: 4,000
0
Books placed on shelves
First cohort goal: 7,500
100%
Of spending reported to a named school
Not a target — a condition of how we disburse. Every payment is tied to a school, a receipt and a result.
Our first cohort is in progress, so these figures are honestly zero. We publish them from day one so you can watch them move — and hold us to them if they don't.
Named schools
Every library we build, named — with what changed.
Not "trust us". See for yourself. Each school appears here with its name, its photographs and one specific result.
This wall is empty, and we have left it that way on purpose.
We are selecting our first schools in Lagos now. The moment the first library opens, it appears here — school name, photographs, what it cost and what changed. Nothing goes on this wall before it is true.
How we work
Canadian governance. Local delivery. Money that moves in stages.
We are incorporated and governed in Canada and hold no separate Nigerian entity — by design. It keeps our accounting and our accountability in one jurisdiction, and puts delivery in the hands of people who live in the communities we serve.
- 01
We vet a local partner
An established organisation, contractor or school network with a verifiable track record in the community we are serving.
- 02
We sign a written agreement
Setting out the scope of work, the standards to be met, the reporting required, and the conditions under which funds are released.
- 03
Funds move in stages
Transferred against agreed milestones, never as a single lump sum.
- 04
Evidence comes back at every stage
Receipts, photographic records, inventory and progress reports from our partner.
- 05
We verify
Remotely as standard, and in person for a sample of projects.
- 06
The decision stays with our board
We retain authority over how our resources are used at every point.
Ways to give
Fund something specific, and get the report on exactly that.
A shelf, a collection, or a whole library. Whatever you fund is tied to a named school, and you receive the record for it.
- Most direct
Sponsor a library
By arrangement
A complete refurbishment of one school library, named in your honour, with a full report and photographic record.
Fund a collection
By arrangement
The book stock for one school, selected with its teachers.
Adopt a shelf
By arrangement
One named shelf, stocked and labelled, in a named school — with a photograph of it once it is full.
A generation of Nigerian readers, one library at a time.
We begin with one school in Lagos. If our approach interests you, we would welcome a conversation about the first cohort.