OUWB student launches mobile library in Ghana
An image of the launch of Project Read in Ghana
Salim Abdul-Razak (center, back row) oversaw launch of Project Read in rural Ghana.

When Salim Abdul-Razak headed home during holiday break in December, he saw a vision he had finally become reality — and with that, hopes of inspiring others to one day, too, realize their dreams. 

Abdul-Razak, M3, launched a mobile library in Ghana aimed at delivering books and educational opportunities to children.

His hope is that youngsters will use the library and be as inspired as he was reading classics like “Peter Pan” and “The Great Gatsby” — inspiration that eventually led him to the U.S. and OUWB.

“That early exposure to books and reading about the world ignited my ambition to travel the world. The stories that I encountered at the library, opened my mind to a world of infinite possibilities, and that is what fueled my ambition to move to the United States to pursue this dream,” said Abdul-Razak.

Launching Project Read

Abdul-Razak was born and raised in northern Ghana before moving to the U.S. in his early 20s. Growing up, he witnessed firsthand the lack of educational opportunities, specifically the absence of libraries in the local area.

His world opened when a Christian nonprofit established a makeshift library in a local church. A volunteer from the community, who he fondly referred to as his childhood librarian, introduced him to reading. On the weekends, Abdul-Razak visited the library to read with her.

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“That was the opportunity that I had that made a significant difference in my academic life, and that foundation is what has led me to the place that I am today – where I'm in an American medical school,” said Abdul-Razak.

However, it wasn't too long ago that Abdul-Razak discovered that his childhood library had deteriorated and was no longer in use. Remembering how important the library was to him during his childhood, he decided to take action.

His plan? Launch Project Read, a mobile library initiative aimed at improving literacy in rural Ghana.

“I thought this was an opportunity for me to make a difference because I knew that when I was little, I had access to that,” he said.

Unlike a traditional library, Project Read is mobile. A large tricycle pulling storage compartments filled with books brings supplies to children in rural areas. Most libraries and educational resources in Ghana are concentrated in urban areas, making access difficult for children in remote villages.

Abdul-Razak spent over a year planning the project, raising funds for the tricycle and collecting books to stock the mobile library. 

“Children in rural communities don't have libraries, and the few opportunities that are available are in bigger cities, and transportation is a problem. My inspiration was, why not bring the books to the kids? That is the genesis of the idea of the mobile library,” said Abdul-Razak.

Community impact and growth

An image of Salim with youngsters in Ghana

Abdul-Razak described the launch of Project Read as an “overwhelming response” from the local community. More than 60 children attended the launch, where a reading session was held and children's reading levels were assessed. The children were then divided into groups so that they could continue learning together. Since the launch, reading sessions have been held weekly.

To make it happen, more than 40 volunteers have signed up to support the project. Abdul-Razak has developed a route for the mobile library and is actively training volunteers to expand the program’s reach. He's also continuing to raise funds for a second Project Read tricycle through a GoFundMe campaign that can be found here.

Day-to-day operations of Project Read are overseen by Northern Voices Ghana, a nonprofit youth organization co-founded by Abdul-Razak in 2016. He continues to serve as executive director. 

Abdul-Razak’s work perfectly embodies OUWB’s mission of community service, both locally and globally.

“OUWB has always been very big on community service. That spirit of community service is what inspired me,” he explained. “I'm always looking at how I can give back to my local community, not just here in the U.S., but also globally, in the community that I was born and raised in. That spirit of volunteerism pushed me to do something like that in my home country,” said Abdul-Razak.

Abdul-Razak explained how the impact of Project Read has been deeply rewarding for him.

“Sometimes I feel like I'm living a dream,” Abdul-Razak said. “The fact that I can go back home, and people can look up to me and say, ‘You're from this community and you've been able to make it all the way to a medical school in the U.S.’ Being that connection between my local community here in Detroit and my home country of Ghana, it's really a dream come true.”

Future aspirations

Looking ahead, Abdul-Razak also hopes to mix his passion for medicine and service by pursuing global health.

“Global health has always been on my mind. Coming from such an underserved part of the world and having this privilege of going through this journey to become a medical doctor, the drive to serve really motivates me to push hard and become a doctor who's going to pursue global health,” he said.

He envisions expanding Project Read to more surrounding communities and acquiring a larger vehicle to reach more children.

“To see the ambition of all these children coming to read or to have access to all these books gives me a sense of joy and accomplishment because being able to give back in that capacity is what truly defines all of the motivations that I have,” said Abdul-Razak.

Anyone interested in supporting Project Read can contribute to the project’s GoFundMe campaign.

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.