Our founder Sultan Akif was once a boy who could not afford books. He is now on a mission to build 100 libraries across the planet to light up lives with the brilliance of knowledge. His story and the videos of the build are below. 

Why is Sultan Building 100 Libraries?

Boy in the Library - The story behind the mission

Humber Film Festival Documentary Proposal on Sultan's Work

The Big Picture - Build Videos

Library #37 - High Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Library #36 - Sahara Desert, Morocco

Library #35 - High Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Library #34 - High Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Library #33 - Marrakesh, Morocco

Library #32 - Indonesia

Library #31 - Indonesia

Library #30 - Indonesia

Library #29 - Indonesia

Library #28 - Indonesia

Library #27 - Indonesia

Returning to Library #4 after 1.5 years!

Returning to Library #1 after 1.5 years!

Library #25: Mexico

Library #24: Nepal

These kids and their families want a better life for themselves just as people from any other part of the world. Honored to support their journey

Library #23: Nepal

This library was special! The word got out about the work we were doing and this learning center reached out. They provided a critical service, free of charge, to children whose parents were street vendors and were not back until later in the evening. This learning center was a oasis where these children could come and study rather than be on the street. The work that was being done was so moving that we decided to jump in and support the center through a library.

 

Library #21: Katmandu, Nepal

Library #20: Grassy Narrows First Nations Reserve, Canada

Library #19: First Nations Reserve, Canada

Library #18: Negara, Indonesia

 

Library #17: Negara, Indonesia

Library #16: Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia

Library #15: Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia

Library #14: Denpasar, Indonesia 

Library #13: Denpasar, Indonesia

Library #12: Primaria Escuela, Mexico

Library #11: Calidad, Colombia (Video coming soon)

Library #10: Bello Shelter, Colombia

No	Location	Status
1	Katmandu, Nepal	Completed
2	Himalayas, Nepal	Completed
3	Amazon jungle, Ecuador	Completed
4	Playa del Carmen, Mexico	Completed
5	Niche-Ha Primary, Mexico	Completed
6	Niche-Ha Secondary, Mexico	Completed
7	Old Town, Panama	Completed
8	Bello Mental Hospital, Colombia	Completed
9	Medellin, Colombia	Completed
10	Bello Shelter, Colombia	Completed
11	Calidad,Colombia	Completed
12	Primaria Escuela, Mexico	Completed
13	Denpasar, Indonesia	Completed
14	Denpasar, Indonesia	Completed
15	Papua, Indonesia	Completed
16	Papua, Indonesia	Completed
17	Giri Asih Negara, Indonesia	Completed
18	Negara, Indonesia	Completed
19	First Nation Reserve, Ontario, Canada	Completed
20	First Nation Reserve, Ontario, Canada	Completed
21	Katmandu, Nepal	Completed
22	Himalayan Village, Nepal	Completed
23	Katmandu, Nepal	Completed
24	Thailand	Completed
25	Mexico	Completed
26	Havana, Cuba	Completed
27	Papua, Indonesia	Completed
28	Indonesia	Completed
29	Indonesia	Completed
30	Indonesia	Completed
31	Indonesia	Completed
32	Indonesia	Completed
33	Marrakech	Completed
34	High Atlas Mountains, Morocco	Completed
35	High Atlas Mountains, Morocco	Completed
36	Sahara Desert, Morocco	Completed
37	High Atlas Mountains, Morocco	Completed
38	TBD
39	TBD
40	#Project 40, Canada	Completed

In our founders own words "My name is Sultan Akif and I am the founder of ‘Library in a Week’. I left a successful, 17 years career, as a global executive with organizations like Microsoft and IBM to follow my dream of empowering youths. After building one of the largest youth empowerment annual events in Canada, it is now my mission to illuminate the far corners of the planet with the brilliance of knowledge; one library at a time. To give those that are left behind the tools to succeed and the power to dream. Connecting with my passion has been one of the best life decisions for me.

The mission of Library in a Week project is to make 100 libraries around the world in a way that drives real sustainable change - our project brings together the community to build the library rather than rely solely on external organizations. Our method is agile, cost effective and has a real impact! A key focus on my 17 years corporate career was to create large reusable solutions and land them globally; little did I realize that I was learning a very specific skill-set for something much bigger in life! I went to Nepal this summer to write my book on a very different topic – the transformation of my career from technology to youth empowerment. In an exciting series of events, I truly connected with my purpose and built two libraries. I libraries were completed in 4 days each in Katmandu, Nepal and Tal, Nepal. Tal in particular was a major undertaking as this remote village of 200 is deep in the Himalayas, only accessible by 5 days of walk or a treacherous 7 hours jeep ride from the nearest road.  The projects are defined below through a day 1 and day 4 picture followed by the video. 

I invite you to join us in the objective of making a real difference. It will be a life changing experience. The steps to the transformation are captured in my book which you can purchase on this website. The book is not designed to be a travel book. It is not a career map. It is not designed to give advice on topics that I have not experienced myself. It is designed to be a guide that you can use to travel deep within - to connect with yourself - with things that will bring joy and happiness for you. It is a very honest account of someone who sees the world very differently, who enjoys the positive energy of people and who believes that good people need to rise to the upper echelons to power so their goodness can illuminate the world. It is designed to ignite something deep within, that over time, enables you to glow with a flame that will not be extinguished."

Here is an extract from the book, written deep in the Himalayas,

“I am writing this story from deep in the Himalayas. Inspiration is everywhere. We just celebrated the inauguration of our library in the remote village of Tal. To give some context, it had taken me 5 days of walking on the famous Annapurna trek to get to this little village of 200 people. All the supplies had to be brought in by a treacherous jeep trek from 6 hours away including paint brushes, electrical equipment and books. There are no roads here or supermarkets. There are no bookshops here. We completed our project, from 0% to 100%; in a record duration of four days. This remains one of my biggest profession and personal accomplishments and I feel everything else that I had done in my life had led me to that point - including my 17 year career as a global technology executive, my travel to over 72 countries around the world and also my resignation from the corporate world to connect with my passion. More importantly, the story weaves through the journey of how I got to the beautiful village of Tal and the personal journey that empowered me to see the opportunity for what it was – a truly life changing moment. This story is focused on one deliverable - to empower you to truly embrace life.”