Empower Rwandan Communities with Digital Libraries

In rural Rwanda, books are scarce and the internet is out of reach, but that hasn’t stopped a group of librarians from creating transformative educational opportunities for their communities. The Sunzu Yacu Community Library gets dozens of visitors a day, and for those too far to come in person, librarians are bringing the library to them. With the help of SolarSPELL — a solar-powered, offline digital library that fits in a backpack — librarians bike to remote schools, bringing tens of thousands of books, videos, audio stories and more to help students practice reading and build digital skills. With growing interest from communities both near and far, these librarians need your help to bring the power of SolarSPELL to more local libraries.

Who we are

Hi! We’re team SolarSPELL, a global nonprofit initiative at Arizona State University that empowers learners anywhere with offline digital libraries loaded with locally relevant multimedia resources — no internet or electricity required. Earlier this year, we were honored to win Best in Show at the 2025 South by Southwest (SXSW) Innovation Awards for our revolutionary approach that meets learners where they are with both relevant information and the skills they need to make empowering use of it in the digital age.

Our goal

With your help, we aim to raise $25,000 to bring five new SolarSPELL digital libraries to more community libraries in Rwanda. For every $5,000 we raise, we'll be able to send one library. Your support will fund the curation of new Kinyarwanda-language storybooks, the building and shipment of the libraries, and a train-the-trainer workshop to prepare librarians across the region to integrate the digital library into their offerings. Let’s help bring knowledge, joy and opportunity to thousands more young learners — one solar-powered story at a time.

Every dollar supports the creation, preparation and delivery of SolarSPELL libraries. And more importantly, it supports new educational opportunities for learners in those communities. “Before we started this program with SolarSPELL, there were years when no students at the primary school passed the national exams to enter secondary school,” says Appolinaire Dukuzimana, Lead Librarian at Sunzu Yacu Community Library. “The level of self-confidence among young people in the community was very low. Now, after five years of using SolarSPELL libraries in our program, many students are passing the exams. The schools we work with are now among the best in the district. SolarSPELL is truly a tool for equity and opportunity.” The more we raise, the more libraries we can send; the more libraries we send, the more learners we can reach.

What your donation makes possible

So, we want to say: THANK YOU! - or as they say in Rwanda, MURAKOZE! Your gift powers every step it takes to get a SolarSPELL library into the hands of a curious young mind.

Here's where you can find more information about what we do: