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Together, we will eradicate illiteracy by 2030.

We are a passionate team and community who believe that access to literacy is a foundational right.

How NABU Works

Accelerating Literacy Through Access to Mother Tongue Books

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 distributes our children’s books to millions of readers globally. To accelerate the mission, we develop reading programs in underserved communities in which the children learn to read on our reading app by reading our NABU children's books.

Content

Authentic Book Creation Lab

A child needs access to 160 mother tongue reading books at the early grades. We train local artists to publish high quality books in mother tongue languages.

Distribution

NABU Reading App
Content is useless without distribution. We have developed the NABU multilingual kids book app, the best reading app for low bandwidth environments, to provide free access to books.

Engagement

Bridge to Literacy
Literacy requires children to be actively reading everyday. We link reading behavior to in-app reward, and invest in local reading programs.

Why mother tongue reading?

Mother tongue books are one of the most cost-effective interventions in increasing literacy.

Research shows mother tongue books:

  • Increase a child’s motivation to read
  • Result in stronger parental engagement in children’s education
  • Provide a bridge to reading in English, and other languages
African girl holding a tablet and smiling

Global Impact

Where we work

Currently

Afghanistan, Australia, DRC, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Ukraine, USA

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Programs

Bridge to Literacy

Through Bridge To Literacy (B2L), NABU trains community-based reading ambassadors and local partners to onboard and motivate families to read with their children every day. In partnership with local governments and NGOs, NABU has trained over 2,000 Reading Ambassadors, replicating the Bridge To Literacy program succ...

Learn More
NABU 10 Year Anniversary

Our Team

  • Isabel Sheinman portrait

    Isabel Sheinman

    CEO, Co-Creator

  • Camille Park portrait

    Camille Park

    Chief Operating Officer

  • Taniya Benedict portrait

    Taniya Benedict

    Chief Governance Officer, Co-Creator

  • Tanyella Allison portrait

    Tanyella Allison

    Co-Creator

See all

Board of Directors

  • Kelly Gallagher, Chair portrait

    Kelly Gallagher, Chair

    Vice President of Content Acquisition at Ingram Content Group

  • Kathryn Ritchie portrait

    Kathryn Ritchie

    Founder and CEO of Ignition Institute

  • Damien Vanderwilt  portrait

    Damien Vanderwilt

    Co-President & Head-Global Markets, Galaxy Digital Holdings

  • Deanna Lane portrait

    Deanna Lane

    CEO of FastLane Consulting Group

FAQs

Reports

2023

NABU phone app

Download the App

We bring the wonder of reading right to your child's fingertips with bilingual, mother tongue books.

A Special thanks to our partners

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African kid smiling

Donate

Your donation makes a difference. Join us in our mission to ensure every child has equal access to literacy and learning resources.

THE IMPACT OF YOUR GIFT

NABU is free for children, families, and teachers, thanks to our generous donors. Your donation can make a big difference:

  • $25 monthly subscription for one child: Provide access to the NABU app and hundreds of bilingual books for a child and their family
  • $45 monthly subscription for one classroom: Gift NABU to a teacher for use in their classrooms to support student learning
  • $1,500 to publish a children's book: Support our professional development initiatives, training local artists to create culturally relevant stories for children in their communities, with translations into 25 languages
  • $5,000 to sponsor a country-wide children's radio program:Expand our impact through storytelling radio programs across an entire country
Donate Now

110 E 25th St.
New York, NY 10010

info@nabu.org
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