Breeding Barefoot Bookworms ─ The Magic of Book Aid in a Remote African Village

In this story, the author describes in graphic detail, the experiences of an Australian teenager who started a book charity and then spent a year in a remote African village to set up a school library. His youthful exuberance and great determination to make a difference in the poor community was an inspiration to all the children in the village. Many students took seriously the school’s new motto "Education to beat poverty." Billy’s one year stay was packed with fun and excitement. He even volunteered to take part in the annual tribal initiation ceremony. Follow Billy as he goes through the experience of a lifetime.

Dr. Serrie Kamara was born in Kamba, a small village in Kambia District in Northern Sierra Leone. He is a graduate of Kolenten Secondary School in Kambia and Njala University College in Sierra Leone. He also holds master’s degrees from the University of Sheffield in the UK and the University of New South Wales in Australia, as well as a PhD from the University of New England in Armidale, Australia. Dr. Kamara was a senior geography lecturer at the University of Sierra Leone and the University of New England. He has published several technical papers in international journals and has written a number of unpublished short stories. This novel is based on his experiences while growing up in Kamba village, where he built a library and resource center in the local primary school, to help the children of Kamba catch up with the 21st century. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife Mariatu and three children, Aminata, Adama, and Idris, and his grandson Serrie junior.