Photo: Shiromani Kant | Unsplash
"Reading shouldn't be a privilege," 28-year-old Sofia Akel, says. Her love for reading and her desire to help others nurture their mind led her to creating the Free Books Campaign -- a non-profit company dedicated to getting books by authors of color to those who can't afford them. Since launching in 2020, it has donated 6,000 books to people across the UK and Ireland. Anyone can ask for a book they'd like to read. The company is funded by donations, and if it has enough money, it will buy the book and send it over. In order to make sure people know about the scheme, Sofia also launched the Free Books festival in Peckham, south-east London. Over a weekend, they gave away about 3,000 books. "[Reading] should be something that everyone is able to participate in, the same way that most people would hopefully agree that education shouldn't be a privilege," she says. "Why I can relate is that if I wasn't able to have access to the library literally on my doorstep, I wouldn't be where I am now."
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