Barcelona to give books to Ghanaian kids

Barcelona teamed up on Thursday with non-profit literacy organization Worldreader in a literacy campaign that aims to distribute one million digital books to children Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa.

The literacy ''backup'' campaign is arriving in the form of star players from FC Barcelona including idolized soccer stars Lionel Messi, Xavi, Eric Abidal, and Seydou Keita, who will send messages to the individual students via e-readers encouraging students to read and achieve their goals.

The nonprofit has already donated 100,000 books to 1,000 students in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, and hopes to expand into Rwanda. 

E-readers also give students access to a much greater variety of titles than traditional books would, according to a 12-month Worldreader pilot program: 107 books, on average, as opposed to the between 3 to 11 books the average student has access to at home without the devices. 

E-readers also ''provided a pathway into the digital world'' for some African students, about 43 percent of whom had never used a computer before, according to the Worldreader study.

"Worldreader has not only given us unparalleled access to books, the program has motivated my students and instilled a joy for reading that never existed before," said Jacqueline Abiso Dzifa, a teacher at Presbyterian Primary in Kade, Ghana, whose students participated in the pilot.

Worldreader is appealing to bibliophiles around the globe to make US$ 5 donations to support its campaign.