Books for Mansa: LDF Donates to Luapula Provincial Library and Kombaniya Secondary School

The Zambian Economist — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:57:48 +0000

A stack of books changed hands across a library counter in Mansa this week. For the Library Development Foundation, it is how a reading nation gets built: one shelf, one school, one province at a time.

By The Zambian Economist Analyst
27 October 2026 | Youth & Women Empowerment

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Library Development Foundation (LDF) has donated books to the Luapula Provincial Library in Mansa and to Kombaniya Secondary School.
The remaining copies from the consignment will go to Mansa Secondary School.
The handover was made by LDF’s representative, Mr Evans Lwimba, an author and inclusion activist.
The donation is part of LDF’s ongoing book donation exercise, which the Foundation says it will continue.

In the photograph, two men shake hands over a library counter. Between them sits a modest pile of books: hardbacks with worn spines, a few paperbacks with bright covers. Behind them, shelves painted sky blue run the length of the wall, and a red banner reads “Welcome to your STEM Study Hub.” Nobody is giving a speech. It is simply the moment a book stops being a donation and becomes something a student in Mansa can borrow on Monday.

That moment is what the Library Development Foundation (LDF) has been working towards in Luapula Province.

Where the books went

LDF has donated books to the Luapula Provincial Library in Mansa and to Kombaniya Secondary School. The remaining copies will be delivered to Mansa Secondary School, completing this round of the Foundation’s donations in the province.

The handover was carried out by LDF’s representative, Mr Evans Lwimba. An author and an inclusion activist, Mr Lwimba brings two convictions to the work: that stories matter, and that no learner should be left outside the reach of them.

The provincial library is a fitting first stop. It serves readers across Mansa, from secondary pupils preparing for examinations to adults looking for a quiet place to read. The banner on its wall marks it as one of the STEM Study Hubs that Book Aid International supports in public libraries across Africa, spaces set aside for students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. New books from LDF add to that shelf and to the rest of the collection.

Why a few books matter

Where a school library is a single cupboard and a class shares its textbooks, every additional book changes something. It is one more pupil who can take a book home, one more teacher who can set reading beyond the syllabus, one more evening spent with a story instead of without one.

“At LDF, we believe in the power of books to transform lives,” the Foundation’s Literacy Team said in announcing the donation.

The claim is a simple one, and most people who learned to love reading as children will recognise it. A library card, a borrowed novel or a dog-eared science textbook can be the first thing that makes a young person think of a future beyond their own street.

Who is behind LDF

The Library Development Foundation is a Zambian non-governmental organisation registered in November 2022. Its motto is “Read to Be Empowered,” and its work sits where literacy and citizenship meet. The Foundation is led by its Chairman and Chief Executive, Mr Jordan Stanley Nkonde.

Books are only part of what LDF does. Ahead of the August 2026 general election, the Foundation worked alongside the Electoral Commission of Zambia on voter education, drawing on a network of 200 volunteers. On polling day, its monitors and observers reported a peaceful vote in the areas they covered. After the results, LDF pointed to the 126,556 rejected presidential ballots and announced plans for a five-year national civic and literacy education programme, to be taken into schools, universities and community libraries.

The literacy numbers explain the urgency. World Bank data put Zambia’s adult literacy rate at 71.77% in 2024, which leaves about 28% of adults without basic literacy. Every book placed in a library or a school is a small answer to that figure.

The common thread is the belief that a reading public is an informed public. A citizen who can read a ballot paper, a newspaper, a contract or a council notice is harder to mislead and better able to take part in public life.

What comes next

LDF says it will continue its book donation exercise, sharing knowledge with schools and libraries in more communities. For Mansa, the next delivery is already planned: the remaining copies go to Mansa Secondary School.

Book donations rarely make headlines. They do not come with ribbon-cuttings or new buildings. But in a few months, somewhere in Mansa, a pupil will open one of these books for the first time, and that may matter more than any ceremony.

Schools, libraries and well-wishers who want to support or partner with LDF’s book donation programme can contact the Foundation through its official channels.

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