Videos


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

Library #9: Medellin, Colombia

Library #8: Bello Mental Hospital, Colombia

Library #7: Panama City, Panama

Library #6: Nicte-Ha Secondary School

Library #5: Nicte-Ha Primary School, Mexico

Library #4: Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

Library #3: Amazon Jungle, Ecuador

Library #2: Tal Village, Himalayas of Nepal

Library #1: Tal Village, Himalayas of Nepal

Library #1: Katmandu, Nepal
Day 1: Katmandu, Nepal
Day 4: Katmandu, Nepal

Our Projects (click on the link to see the videos)

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.”