Duffy Books in Homes

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If you have an interest in NZ Literature (and movies) than you will more than likely have heard of Alan Duff. He's the author of Once Were Warriors (among other works). He set up the Alan Duff Charitable Foundation after a visit to Camberley School in Hastings, New Zealand in 1992. He found that the majority of those children came from bookless homes and showed little, if any, interest in reading.

The idea behind Duffy Books in Homes is to inspire a love of books and reading in children so that they grow into adults who inspire a love of reading.

The philosophy behind the programme is simple - to break the cycle of 'booklessness'. Kids who can't read become adults who can't communicate and that's a serious disadvantage in a world that operates on the written word.

The Books in Homes programme was officially launched in 1995 with 80 schools, 16,000 students and 14 sponsors, and has grown to encompass 558 schools, over 100,000 students and 182 sponsors in 2009. Its success has inspired offshoot programmes in the Pacific Islands, Australia and the USA.

Duffy kids are given 5 books a year, which they choose themselves from the Books in Homes catalogue. It costs around NZ$50 to provide a Duffy kid with all the services that the Books in Homes programme provides. You can donate here - your support of this great literacy project makes all the difference!