Kunle Adelabu
The Executive Director of the iRead Afrika and leader of the team that read for 480 hours in 20 days to break the Guinness World Record in Read Aloud Attempt by a Team, Mr Bayode Treasure Olawunmi, has appealed to the public to support the group’s quest in raising funds to build libraries across Nigeria.
Aside breaking the record, the group’s primary objective in reading for 20 days between December 1 and 21, 2021, at the Herbert Macaulay Library, 338, Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos, was to raise 500 Million naira to build 20 libraries.
While acknowledging that it will not be an easy task to raise such amount of money considering the harsh economic situation in the country, Bayode vowed, during a session on THE IMPACT WhatsApp platform, that they will not relent until the ultimate goal is achieved.
“The 480 hours reading quest was actually organized to announce the drive to raise funds to build functional libraries across electoral wards in Nigeria”, Bayode said during the session.
“Our aims in embarking on the reading quest were two, one is to break and create a new Guinness World Record and the second is for the crowd funding drive. We were able to break the record and set a new record.
“However, the crowd funding drive is not something we can achieve in the space of 20 days. We quite understand that reality”, he said.
“Our intention is to raise about N500m to build 20 libraries in the first phase of the drive. We are quite aware that N500 Million is no small amount we can raise in 20 days considering the economic situation of our country.
“Well, we understand the fact that response might be slow, but if we don’t relent, we will ultimately reach the goal. Remember it’s money we are talking about here. Nigeria is still not a country where donation is a given. But we are presently reaching out to individuals to support the course”, he added.
He said that they are not requesting huge donations from single individuals but as small as N2000 from an individual.
However, Bayode also stated that anybody that want his or her name to be on the roll call of the libraries will have to donate N50, 000 and above.
“We are not asking for a big donation from a single person and, of course, our drive is crowd funding, so, it’s about the number. All we ask is a minimum of N2000 from an individual, but if you want your name to be etched on the legacy wall in the libraries, you must donate at least N50, 000 and this you can spread. You can pay it five times”, Bayode explained.
“Legacy Wall is a wall in each of the libraries we are building where all the names of our volunteers, fundraisers and donors will be written”.
He said that he will be calling on members of THE IMPACT platform to solicit for their support and donation towards the project.
“I will be calling to ask for your support; to donate towards this course. We need all the support we can get”, he pleaded.
“Who knows, maybe the first of our libraries will be in Ikorodu. So, donations from members of this platform might actually be towards building a functional library in Ikorodu”.
He also charged members of the platform to not only donate but also recommend others that can support the project.
“Moreso, the support we are asking goes beyond money, if you know anyone you think can donate to our course, you can actually recommend us to such persons.
“Join the cause to have your name etched on the wall of the libraries we are building”.
For support and donations towards achieving the building of libraries, the Executive Director of iRead Afrika asked members of the platform and the general public to send their donations to the account details below:
FCMB
8534215010 (Naira)
8534215027 (Dollar)
OR
Click the link to donate https://flutterwave.com/pay/ireadafrikapbdk
“You can support read2build by clicking this link to donate or you can simply transfer your donations to our bank account”, he said.
“Also, you can visit read2build.net for more information and follow me on IG @iread_bayode and @read2build to follow our activities”, Bayode added.
