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An estimated 4 in 5 African children cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10, meaning that many children are progressing through school without acquiring the skills needed for further learning (UNICEF, 2024).
Despite efforts by different stakeholders to expand access to education, major disparities remain in the quality and availability of learning opportunities, particularly in rural and underserved schools.
Many schools have limited access to age-appropriate books, learning materials, libraries, digital devices, and reliable electricity. Overcrowded classrooms and gaps in teacher quality further compound the problem (UNICEF, 2024).
The digital divide adds another layer to the challenge. Only 8% of students in sub-Saharan Africa have access to a computer, while just 14% have internet access at home, limiting the ability of many children to benefit from digital learning opportunities (UNICEF, 2021).
Sun Books responds to these challenges by combining digital learning, teacher professional development, community engagement, and access to books and learning materials. Digital technologies offer new possibilities for improving access to quality education, particularly through solutions that can operate in low-connectivity environments. By bringing together technology, locally relevant content, and teacher support, Sun Books creates more accessible and engaging learning environments that help underserved children develop foundational literacy and digital skills.
Sun Books creates practical, technology-enabled learning environments in underserved schools and communities by combining digital resources, teacher development, books, and community support.
Schools receive solar-powered tablets preloaded with age-appropriate e-books, interactive storybooks, phonics lessons, educational videos, literacy applications, and learning games. Because the content is accessible offline, children can learn without reliance on the internet or electricity.
Teachers receive structured training on literacy instruction, learner-centred teaching, and how to effectively integrate digital resources into lessons. They are trained to apply these practical approaches in the classroom and address challenges as they arise.
Sun Books also expands children's access to reading through physical books, learning materials, and pop-up libraries.
School leaders, parents, and community stakeholders are engaged to foster ownership and create supportive learning environments.
Programme teams monitor participation, teacher engagement, and learning activities to inform ongoing support and improvement.
In practice, Sun Books goes beyond providing technology to enhance learning. It brings together digital access, teacher capacity development, relevant content, reading opportunities, and community participation to create sustainable learning environments where children can develop essential foundational and digital literacy skills.
Sun Books has grown through partnerships, pilot projects and continuous refinement of its delivery model. In 2019, the programme was introduced at Ireti Girls Primary School in Lagos through a partnership with DreamSchool Foundation, marking one of its early implementations in Nigeria.
In 2020, support from the Navitas Education Trust enabled Sun Books to expand to additional schools and underserved communities. The Australian Government, in 2021 and 2025, further supported institutional capacity and programme expansion. In the last 4 years, we have expanded teacher training, improved digital content, strengthened engagement with stakeholders, and integrated the resources more closely into classroom teaching.
In 2025, Sun Books expanded into Rivers State through a partnership with Heirs Energies, combining solar energy with offline digital learning to reach 500+ pupils and 25 teachers across two government primary schools. The same year, the programme expanded into Abuja’s IDP communities through the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program (DAP), supporting 42 teachers and 620 children across three IDP camps.
These experiences have helped us develop Sun Books from a school-based digital literacy intervention into a flexible model that can be adapted to different educational and community settings. The model has therefore evolved not simply through wider distribution of technology, but through continuous learning and adaptation to the needs of the communities we serve.
Our experience has shown that educational technology is mostly effective when combined with appropriate teaching, reading resources, and opportunities for children to apply what they learn. We therefore continue to refine both the content and delivery of the programme based on implementation experience, teacher feedback, and the needs of our beneficiaries.
Sun Books has evolved by introducing flexible sub-themes designed to maximise its impact and reach across different communities and educational settings. It now includes financial literacy, inclusive education, numeracy, adult education, mobile/pop-up libraries, and reading spaces.
These additional themes do not represent a move away from digital literacy, which remains the core component of Sun Books. Rather, they allow us to respond more effectively to the different needs of our beneficiaries while creating more entry points for participation and partnership. The sub-themes also enable us to tailor interventions to specific community needs and deliver focused activities where appropriate.
This flexibility can help Sun Books reach more learners through smaller, targeted interventions while maintaining the broader programme model. Ultimately, the aim is to broaden how Sun Books can improve literacy and learning, while retaining technology and digital learning as an important part of the innovation.
You can start by identifying 10–20 children in your community who would benefit from additional reading or learning support and obtaining consent from their parents or guardians.
Next, identify a safe and accessible location, such as a community centre, library, church or shared community space, where you can hold the sessions. You would ideally work with parents, teachers or community leaders to provide a safe and supportive learning environment.
You can then contact the World Literacy Foundation to discuss access to the Sun Books digital resources, and explore ways to implement the programme. After this is done, set up a simple weekly programme, such as two sessions per week, combining reading, phonics, digital learning, numeracy or financial literacy activities.
Where devices are available, children can work in small groups using offline digital content; where they are not, you can begin with physical books and shared learning materials. Keep a simple record of attendance, activities and children's progress, and gather feedback from parents and learners.
After 8–12 weeks, review the results to identify what worked, what needs improvement, and whether the programme could be expanded to reach more children. This provides a simple, low-cost way for you to engage with the Sun Books model at a pilot scale without requiring a full school-wide implementation.
