What if hundreds of people, each armed with a couple dollars, decided to make a difference?
What if they used new media to bring good books to people who need them?
What if they raised money, built a movement, and “left a dent in the universe”?
Well, we did that.
Our Africa eBook Project was a tremendous success.
In just nine hours we raised $4,000 and hit our goal, providing 2,000 CDs, loaded with Catholic eBooks, for all the seminarians in Cameroon.
By the second day, we doubled the goal.
The third day we tripled it.
By the end of the campaign, we gathered over $18,000–enough to produce over 12,000 CDs.
That’s incredible.
And it wouldn’t have happened without you. So for joining the movement, for donating, for showing your support: thank you. Thank you for chipping in and being part of something huge. Thank you for catching the vision and helping it spread. Pretty soon, thousands of seminarians across Africa will be carrying digital libraries in their pockets, wherever they go, all because of you.
A couple days ago Lighthouse Catholic Media sent me a sampling of the CDs. They turned out great:
Right now the first 2,000 CDs are heading to Cameroon. In fact, they’re supposed to land today (you can follow their journey here.) Another 800 CDs will soon be shipped to all the seminarians in Uganda. Then from there we’ll move to other countries in Africa.
Mark Middendorf, the president of Lighthouse Catholic Media, was recently in Rome for a New Evangelization conference. While there he had the great pleasure of speaking with Francis Cardinal Arinze. During their chat Mark brought up our Africa eBook Project and Cardinal Arinze was thrilled. According to Mark the Cardinal “absolutely LIT UP” saying “we *must* bring this to Nigeria! The seminarians *need* this!”
So with Cameroon and Uganda covered, it looks like Nigeria may be next. After all if Cardinal Arinze tells you to do something , you got to do it.
I’ll keep you updated as we move into other countries. And if you have any personal connections with rectors or seminarians in Africa, let me know and we’ll try to hook up.
Thanks again for your support!
PS. If you claimed a perk during the crowdsourcing campaign, such as a CD, book, or DVD set, you should have received it by now. If you didn’t, or if you have any questions, email me at africa@brandonvogt.com.