We are a passionate team and community who believe that access to literacy is a foundational right.
We are a passionate team and community who believe that access to literacy is a foundational right.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to solve the imbalance in children’s book creation and distribution, so all children can read and rise to their full potential. Literacy is a prerequisite for eradicating poverty, yet globally there is a severe shortage of local language books at the early grade levels. As a result, 250M children are leaving school without being able to read, rendering them extremely vulnerable to social and economic exploitation.
Our solution is to make children’s books free, and to champion mother tongue stories. Our vision is to build an inclusive, diverse, and community-centric global and local storytelling platform. When children can read in their local language first, they grow in confidence, and literacy levels shoot up. By offering training for writers and illustrators, we create original local language books that support children in learning how to read. Nabu.org is our free reading app that can distribute children’s books to millions of readers globally.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to solve the imbalance in children’s book creation and distribution, so all children can read and rise to their full potential. Literacy is a prerequisite for eradicating poverty, yet globally there is a severe shortage of local language books at the early grade levels. As a result, 250M children are leaving school without being able to read, rendering them extremely vulnerable to social and economic exploitation.
Our solution is to make children’s books free, and to champion mother tongue stories. Our vision is to build an inclusive, diverse, and community-centric global and local storytelling platform. When children can read in their local language first, they grow in confidence, and literacy levels shoot up. By offering training for writers and illustrators, we create original local language books that support children in learning how to read. Nabu.org is our free reading app that can distribute children’s books to millions of readers globally.
Our History
June 2013
NABU was founded in New York City on the 11th of June, 2013.
Fun fact: our original organizational name was “Library For All” (we rebranded to NABU in July 2018). We incorporated as “LFA International” because the NY state department wouldn’t let us have library in our name!
July 2013
NABU raises $110,000 on Kickstarter on July 2013 from over 700 backers!
NABU co-creators Tanyella Evans and Isabel Shienman led the campaign with a kick-off event at Soho House, New York. The Kickstarter seed funding enabled us to build the first iteration of the nabu.org reading app for low bandwidth areas. During the campaign, we had schools and organizations from all around the world reaching out to us to say they needed the program.
October 2013
Haiti pilot launches at one school in Gressier, near Port-au-Prince.
We began small, starting at one partner school in Haiti to test the technology and relevance of the 300 free ebooks we had curated for the students and teachers. We worked with experts from NYU and ThoughtWorks to refine the technology plan that we would need to build a robust and scalable reading app.
June 2014
NABU co-creator Tanyella Evans is awarded the Echoing Green Fellowship.
This was a turning point for NABU. Echoing Green is a prestigious fellowship that helps to accelerate early-stage social ventures that have the potential for world-changing impact. The fellowship provided further funding and a community of support to help Tanyella and her co-creators build NABU.
March 2015
Democratic Republic of Congo program launches on 25th of March, 2015.
NABU’s DRC program began at one school in partnership with local organization En Classe. The weekly reading program was expanded to nine schools by the summer of 2016, reaching 300 children who had very little access to books before the En Classe program.
May 2015
Co-creator Taniya Benedict joins NABU as our Director of Programs & Operations.
As our program and partnerships expanded, Taniya joined to help support local teams and develop operational plans for scale.
June 2015
Rwanda program launches on June 26th 2015.
NABU partnered with the First Lady of Rwanda’s Imbuto Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies to launch the nabu.org reading app for free on the Google Play store in Rwanda. The program was launched at an event at Innovation Village inside the Rwandan National Library.
January 2016
NABU launches a partnership with Books For Asia.
NABU was approached by Books For Asia to run a six month pilot program in Cambodia and Mongolia at six schools. The children in the program read through all of the mother tongue books in the first few weeks of the program. Through this pilot, we learnt that in order to impact literacy and build a sustainable program, we had to find a way to create books for children in their mother tongue where those books did not exist.
October 2016
NABU is awarded a commendation from the Library of Congress.
NABU was recognized at the 2016 Literacy Awards “For its effective implementation of best practices in literacy and reading promotion”. Tanyella Evans and our Board Chair at the time Philippa Tyndale traveled to Washington DC to receive the award.
June 2017
NABU launches the Writer Workshop program in Haiti.
With funding from USAID, NABU brought together 50 local authors and illustrators in Port-au-Prince. In just six months, these incredible local creators produced 260 original stories in Haitian Creole, which we published for free on the nabu.org app. The success of this program laid the foundation for us to reimagine our mission and vision to address the root cause of illiteracy; the imbalance in the creation and distribution of children’s books.
June 2018
NABU co-creators celebrate the rebrand of the organization.
On June 28th 2018, over 300 supporters gathered at Milk Studios in New York to celebrate the new NABU brand, which was created with the pro bono support of Established NYC, and Cris Dawes. Co-creators Tanyella Evans, Isabel Sheinman and Taniya Benedict decided to re-brand “Library For All” to “NABU” to reflect the new mission focus on the systemic causes of illiteracy. These root causes include both the distribution and creation of children’s books in mother tongue languages, that are a proven bridge to literacy.
Fun fact: NABU is an ancient symbol of literacy and wisdom. NABU referred to the ‘scribe’ in Ancient mesopotamia. It is also a four letter word that was much easier for our readers and creators to connect to!
July 2018
NABU re-brand event in Australia hosted by Australian First Lady Lucy Turnbull.
On Thursday July 26th 2018, the rebrand was launched in Australia at Kirribilli House with Lucy Turnbull. Co-creators Taniya Benedict and Tanyella Evans spoke at the reception to our community of generous Australian supporters, partners and friends. The rebrand to NABU was a huge success and laid the foundation for our program success in the following months.
December 2018
NABU reaches 10,000+ children and families on the nabu.org app in 9 months.
In February 2018, Amos Furaha was appointed as NABU’s Director of Global User Engagement in Kigali, Rwanda. Amos engaged a talented team and community of ambassadors to exponentially grow NABU’s impact, and by December we reached our milestone of 10,000 readers. The Kigali office is the base for our future expansion into the East and Central African region.
Where we work
We have offices in New York, Kigali and Port-au-Prince, and we partner with a global network of content creators, organizations and investors. To eradicate poverty, we believe we must work together to create a world where literacy is open and unbound.
Where we work
We have offices in New York, Kigali and Port-au-Prince, and we partner with a global network of content creators, organizations and investors. To eradicate poverty, we believe we must work together to create a world where literacy is open and unbound.
NEW YORK – USA
Our New York office is based in NeueHouse Madison Square. NeueHouse is a cultural and collaborative space for prominent creatives, artists and entrepreneurs. We are surrounded by friends and connections that help us with achieving our mission and making our vision a reality. to reach realityreality out to community.
KIGALI – RWANDA
Our Kigali office is based in the National Public Library in Kacyiru. We launched NABU at the Innovation Village here in 2015, and it has proven to be a great hub for our growing operations. The space is open to the public and we run regular events and writer workshops here to reach out to the community. some word
PORT-AU-PRINCE – HAITI
In Haiti we are out and about visiting our partners and rarely in one spot! If we do have meetings or trainings, you will find us at Banj in Delmas, a co-working space that provides an ideal work environment for us to network with other Haitian entrepreneurs and go-getters. to toworkew aa twrk networh to the community.
NEW YORK – USA
Our New York office is based in NeueHouse Madison Square. NeueHouse is a cultural and collaborative space for prominent creatives, artists and entrepreneurs. We are surrounded by friends and connections that help us with achieving our mission and making our vision a reality.
KIGALI – RWANDA
Our Kigali office is based in the National Public Library in Kacyiru. We launched NABU at the Innovation Village here in 2015, and it has proven to be a great hub for our growing operations. The space is open to the public and we run regular events and writer workshops here to reach out to the community.
PORT-AU-PRINCE – HAITI
In Haiti we are out and about visiting our partners and rarely in one spot! If we do have meetings or trainings, you will find us at Banj in Delmas, a co-working space that provides an ideal work environment for us to network with other Haitian entrepreneurs and go-getters.
Annual Report & Financials
Become a Partner
The work that we do is possible thanks to the help of our supporters
PATRON
David and Hermine Heller
Christopher and Loretta Stadler
Cheryl Mothes & Rick Hetzel
MAJOR SUPPORT
Bloomberg Philantropies
PRATT Family Foundation
Siegel Family Endowment
FOUNDATIONS
Lefkofsky Family Foundation
Panta Rhea Foundation
Ralph E. Ogden Foundation
SPONSORS
Bird in Hand Foundation
Milne Group
SPECIAL THANKS
Astea Solutions
Echoing Green
Siemens Stiftung
NEXT GEN LEADERSHIP FUND
Joseph Brennan
Emma Fishman
Alexandra Gifford
Dane McCarthy
Naomi Matlow
Vivian Inya
Isabel Sheinman
Alexia Sheinman
Christopher Thompson
INTERESTED IN PARTNERING WITH NABU?
Meet the team
Tanyella Evans
Executive Director, Co-Creator
Tanyella co-founded NABU in 2013, soon after completing her studies at Cambridge University in England. She was formerly Executive Director at Artists for Peace and Justice, and worked at the Campaign for Female Education. She was named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in 2017, and is a recipient of the esteemed Echoing Green Fellowship.
Taniya Benedict
Director of Global Operations & Programs, Co-Creator
Taniya works with NABU’s teams across New York, Africa and Haiti to develop strategies and partnerships that ensure efficiency and sustainability as the organization scales. Taniya is an Australian Lawyer, and worked in international refugee litigation before joining the founding team in 2015. Taniya holds a Masters Degree in International Law and Development from the University of Melbourne.
Christopher Thompson
Director of Development
Christopher brings years of fund development experience to NABU including the development and execution of strategies used for sustainable growth and impact. Christopher also has international experience, and has worked on several projects in the Philippines, Ukraine, Guatemala, and several countries throughout the Caribbean. Christopher holds a BA in Psychology from St John’s University- New York and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Metropolitan College of New York.
Amos Furaha
Director of Global User Engagement
An accomplished social entrepreneur and business school graduate, Amos drives the growth and engagement of our readership. Leading the team in Rwanda, Amos is developing a model to scale to other countries in the East and Central African region. Before joining the NABU team in 2018, Amos co-founded and managed a professional counselling service in Kigali.
Françoise Thybulle
Director of Haiti Programs
Françoise is driven by the prospect of bringing books to millions of Haitian children. Trained in Library Sciences at Columbia University, she has been a champion of reading in Haiti and the Caribbean region. Before joining NABU in 2014, she was the Director of the Haitian National Library for thirty years.
Michael Ross
Creative Director
Michael is an artist, practicing in the fields of design and architecture. Michael brings an array of eclectic skills and experience as NABU’s Creative Director, building the organization’s visual and artistic identity. He joined Nabu in early 2019, after working as a designer and architect for Ai Weiwei.
Clarisse Iradukunda
Operations Manager
Clarisse is responsible for the management, coordination and supervision of our programs in Rwanda. She joined Nabu in 2018 after teaching English and Kinyarwanda to children in under-privileged communities. Clarisse holds a Bachelor of Communications & Public Relations from the University of Rwanda.
Emily Yanay
Business Development and Strategic Partnerships Manager
Emily comes to NABU with experience in the day to day operations of an Australian family office and Impact Investment firm. She completed her Bachelor of Business majoring in Marketing and Management at Monash University in 2018. Emily has volunteered on the executive committee of an organization called EMPOWER that inspires students to consider careers outside of climbing the “corporate ladder.”
Beryl Oywer
Programs Manager, Kenya
Beryl is a communication strategist with over seven years’ experience in the media industry. She is a content developer and writer with strong knowledge of the local, regional, and international media landscape. She has written numerous articles focusing on education, youth, and health matters in the East African region. Beryl holds a BA in Communication from Daystar University. She is pursuing her Masters at the Aga Khan University GSMC.
Peace Kwizera
Marketing & Communications Associate
Peace is NABU’s Marketing & Communications Associate. Prior to joining our team in Rwanda, Peace authored a children’s book titled ‘Oh Rwandan Child’ and worked as a television presenter. Peace is currently studying Global Challengers at African Leadership University.
Boniface Wekesa
Marketing & Communications Associate
Boniface Wekesa is NABU’s Marketing Associate in Kenya. Bonnie brings an array of creative experience to NABU including photography, set production, and media and artist experience. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism at USIU-A (United States International University Africa ).
Philippe Nkwakuzi
Programs Associate
Philippe oversees partnerships and acquisitions for our programs. Before joining NABU, Philippe worked as the Admissions and Communications Assistant at Kepler as well as the District Manager at Babylon Health Rwanda. Philippe holds a Bachelor of Arts Management with a concentration in Logistics and Operations from Southern New Hampshire University.
Odile Uwera
Content Associate
Odile is a trained illustrator and creative designer, skilled in children’s book creation and publishing. She joined the Nabu team in March 2019, supporting with content curation and creation in Rwanda. Odile studied Communication Design at the University of Rwanda and was a freelance illustrator prior to joining our team.
Sandrine Umuhoza
Editor
Sandrine oversees the editing and translation of our mother tongue stories. Before joining NABU, Sandrine worked as a student advisor in a private university in Kigali and was an intern in a nonprofit organization as a communication officer. She has a Bachelors in Journalism and Communication from the University of Rwanda.
Marina Mihajlova
Bookkeeper
Marina is NABU’s Bookkeeper, and also supports the team with general office management and events. Marina believes in a world where all children can read. She joined the Nabu team in 2017 after several years working in the corporate book-keeping sector.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Founder and CEO of Ignition Institute
Partner at Goldman Sachs
CEO of FastLane Consulting Group
Vice President of Content Acquisition at Ingram Content Group
Co-owner of Out of Africa Entertainment and Co-founder of non-profit Africa Rising
Kevin Baird
Chairman, Global Center for College & Career Readiness
Co-creator NABU
CEO of AlixPartners
Executive Director, Co-creator NABU
Educator, award-winning children’s book author, and former Executive Director of the Panta Rhea Foundation