A Decade of Partnership, a Legacy of Impact: Honouring Book Aid International’s Enduring Contribution to Ghana’s Literacy Transformation

Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare, the Nkosuohemaa (Development Queen) for the Oseawuo Division of Okyeman, closed 2025 with two significant honours that reflect not only distinguished personal leadership but the far-reaching impact of a sustained partnership committed to education, culture, and peacebuilding.

In a period marked by growing concern over access to books, literacy, and cultural preservation, these recognitions point to the power of long-term partnership in driving meaningful social change.

Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare receiving an award at the International Edition of the Accra Arts and Crafts Market 2025

The first honour came at the International Edition of the Accra Arts and Crafts Market 2025, where Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare received a Cultural Leadership Award for her pioneering work through the Heritage Hands Foundation in preserving Ghanaian heritage and empowering women and girls as agents of community development.

Days later, she was again honoured at the Global Peace Ambassadors Awards and NGOs Conference 2025, held on December 23 at the British Council Auditorium in Accra, where she received the Peace, Humanitarian Service and Leadership Award in recognition of her sustained humanitarian service, advocacy for literacy, and commitment to inclusive development.

At the heart of both honours lies a decade-long partnership between the Rainbow Trust Foundation and Book Aid International of the United Kingdom, a partnership that has steadily transformed access to books, libraries, and learning spaces across Ghana since it formally began on 10th August, 2016.

Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare signing the partnership agreement with Alison Tweed, CEO of Book Aid International (BAI) on 10th August, 2016

As founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rainbow Trust Foundation, Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare has overseen the implementation of Book Aid International–supported programmes that have reached 239 schools and institutions, established over 80 libraries, distributed more than 300,000 quality books, and trained 285 teacher-librarians in basic library management.

These numbers represent more than outputs. They reflect restored reading spaces in underserved communities, strengthened learning environments in basic schools, secondary schools, tertiary institutions, and medical schools and hospitals, and renewed confidence in libraries as centres of knowledge and opportunity.

Through initiatives such as Explorer Libraries, Books to Go, Books to Go Family, Discovery Book Boxes, Community Reading Awards, and Teacher Librarian Training, Book Aid International has enabled Rainbow Trust Foundation to design literacy interventions that respond directly to Ghana’s educational realities, particularly in rural and resource-constrained settings.

Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare and Programme Director Edmund Nii Adjetey Badu, participating in regional learning event in Kenya

Book Aid International’s impact has also extended beyond the delivery of books. The organisation has consistently invested in strengthening its partners, recognising that sustainable impact depends on institutional capacity. Through its Partnership Development Programme, senior leadership of Rainbow Trust Foundation, including Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare and Programme Director Edmund Nii Adjetey Badu, participated in regional learning events in Kenya focused on monitoring and evaluation, child safeguarding, report writing, consent, and partnership effectiveness. This investment elevated operational standards and reinforced accountability, professionalism, and evidence-based programming across RTF’s work.

Under the strategic leadership of Alison Tweed, Chief Executive Officer of Book Aid International, the organisation has continued to expand its footprint across developing countries with clarity of purpose and innovation.

Her leadership has reinforced BAI’s mission to ensure equitable access to books and learning resources worldwide. The organisation’s global stature is further strengthened by the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Camilla, who assumed the role in May 2022, and the advocacy of Vice Patron Lord Paul Boateng, underscoring BAI’s credibility and international standing.

Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare with Alison Tweed, CEO of Book Aid International (BAI), during a monitoring visit to Adjei Kojo Basic School.

The depth of this partnership is further reflected in Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare’s appointment to the International Advisory Board of Book Aid International, a role that recognises her field expertise and ensures that Ghanaian experience informs global education and literacy discourse.

The ripple effects of Book Aid International’s support extend beyond Rainbow Trust Foundation. Through the Heritage Hands Foundation, a 47-member unique coalition of Queenmothers founded and led by Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare as its President, more than 100,000 books have been donated to 37 schools and institutions across Ghana.

The Foundation has also delivered essential community infrastructure, including a six-seater modern toilet facility with a mechanised borehole at the Ningo-Ahwiam D/A Basic School, serving nearly 2,000 learners. This work has earned formal commendation and endorsement from the Diaspora Affairs Office under the Office of the President, recognising its bold vision for cultural preservation and women-led development.

Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare donating books and educational materials to the Lucky Mensah Football Academy as part of the BAI & RTF initiative “Education and Sports”

Looking ahead, the partnership between Rainbow Trust Foundation and Book Aid International is entering a new and ambitious phase. Flagship initiatives such as Education and Sports, launched in December 2025 at the Lucky Mensah Football Academy, are redefining literacy by linking reading to discipline, teamwork, and performance among juvenile athletes.

Another major intervention, One Hospital, One Library, scheduled for rollout in 2026, will introduce reading spaces into medical schools and hospitals, recognising books as tools for learning, healing, and wellbeing.

Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare in discussion with Alison Tweed, CEO of Book Aid International (BAI), and Samantha Soya, Head of Programmes and Partnerships.

As the partnership approaches its tenth anniversary in 2026, the two honours received by Nana Akosua Agyapomaa Asare stand as shared achievements. They speak to the quiet but transformative power of books, the value of trust-based partnership, and the enduring belief that literacy and culture are foundational to peace, humanitarian service, and sustainable development.

In celebrating these awards, attention rightly turns to Book Aid International, whose steadfast support continues to write new chapters of opportunity across Ghana and beyond.