Books Unbound

Here's where your donation will go:

1) Book Development -  this is a lengthy research process involving our international & local team, which includes:

- Ideation: Identify target community, consult with local educators, assemble local team.

- Consultation: Design outline with local team, collect reference photos in the community.

- Contextualization: Create cartoons, begin feedback process, cartoon modification & approval by local team, translation of text to relevant language(s).

- Verification: Cartoons & translations shared among community members (randomized method), book design & small-batch prints, focus groups formed to provide feedback on translations, cartoons, activities & book themes.

- Implementation: Book distributions, launch first classes, collect qualitative feedback, make necessary adjustments.

- Expansion: More book distributions, host Teacher Trainings, hire local teachers, launch more classes.

Learn more about our methodology here.

Books we design - picture dictionaries, coloring books, health-specific books, children's books, posters, and more! Learn more about our projects here.

2) Book Distribution:

- We print locally & distribute our books to individuals & small organizations with limited funding. 

- We support grassroots teachers who do not have support from large school funding and are in need of education resources.

- We support groups of students interested in using our books to arrange small groups & community-building activities.

Please click HERE to visit our website.

About Books Unbound

We’re a diverse team of minorities around the world, many of whom are refugees themselves. We work with photographers, artists, translators, and educators who are dedicated to providing displaced communities with accessible, contextualized learning opportunities.

Our Approach:

• Cartoon-Based | Our materials are cartoon-based and culturally sensitive to reach both literate and illiterate learners in a relatable way.

• Relevant Education Needs | We work with local educators to address immediate learning needs, such as: basic vocabulary, health needs, female-sensitive topics, etc.

• Language Preservation | We work with local and international linguists to promote mother tongue literacy and preserve minority languages.

Books Unbound partners with local NGOs and individuals established in refugee communities to distribute and implement programs. Learn more about our programs here.

Background:

Books Unbound was informally developed to address the needs of a small group of Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in 2015. Separated from their families, they traveled from Myanmar by boat for two months before landing in southern Thailand. They were arrested while hiding in the jungles and taken to a temporary shelter. Few learning materials were available to them and none were relatable or relevant to them. Sophie worked with the Rohingya and other volunteers to create a Rohingya specific picture-based program. A culturally sensitive illustration fostered more engagement, and Books Unbound was born.

Since then, Sophie has been traversing the globe to connect with Rohingya friends throughout the States and all over Asia to learn their stories and build out education programs.

You can read about her stories HERE.

IMPORTANT: If mailing a donation, please make it payable to "New Horizons Foundation" with memo "Books Unbound"

Books Unbound

c/o New Horizons Foundation

5550 Tech Center Dr STE 303, Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Featured Photographer: Nihab Rahman and Hailey Sadler