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Please read our Frequently Asked Questions  

Phone

+441227 392239

Opening Hours

We are open on Mondays to Fridays, 9am – 5pm except on Bank Holidays.

UK Address

Books2Africa UK
Unit 2, Barton Business Park, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3AA, United Kingdom

Directions

Travelling by Car:

Use the postcode CT1 3AA in your satnav and follow directions to Barton Business Park via Appledown Way.
 
Travelling by Train:
 

Get a train to either Canterbury East Station or Canterbury West Station. Get a taxi on arrival to Unit 2, Barton Business Park, New Dover Road, via Apple Down Way.

Travelling by Bus:

Route A – Get Bus 12, 15 or 16 from the Canterbury Bus Station, stop at Old Gate Inn bus stop (3 minutes ride) and walk down Appledown Way to Unit 2, Barton Business Park (15 minutes walk).
 

Route B – Get Bus 23A from the Canterbury Bus Station and stop at Barton Estate, Pilgrims Way bus stop (6 minutes ride) and walk through the pedestrian path on Pilgrims Way to Unit 2, Barton Business Park (7 minutes walk)

Frequently Asked Questions

Donating Books and Computers

We take pretty much every type of book regardless of the age or subject. This includes new or used books, written in English, French or any African language, Nursery, Primary, Secondary and University textbooks, Dictionaries, Encyclopaedias and Reference books, Novels, Hobbies and Leisure books, Bibles and Religious books, Unused Notebooks, Exercise books and stationery, Ex library or charity shop books and Comics.

We do not take damaged or illegible books, folders, ring-binders or photocopied materials, brochures, pamphlets or lecture notes, or pornography.

We take in upto 1 million books per year so you can go ahead and packaged your books into boxes and Arrange a collection or drop-off appointment online. However, if you have more than 1,000 books to donate, just drop us a line below with the type of books you have, to confirm they are okay to send. 

Reuse any strong cardboard box, a suitcase or buy cardboard boxes here. Each box must not weigh more than 20 kg maximum and 60 cm maximum dimension on any side. Use bubble wrap or other stuffing if possible for fragile items such as computers. If donating Apple devices, please remove your iCloud account first. Secure your box with sufficient tape to prevent damage in transit. Then, arrange a collection or drop-off appointment online and write your tracking reference on each box.

If your boxes were not collected by 6pm on your scheduled collection date for whatever reason, you can reschedule the collection free of charge. Please accept our apologies if it was missed by the courier and you waited all day! This sometimes happens when circumstances beyond the drivers control means they are unable to get to you as planned. Please reschedule your collection by completing our Missed Collection Form and include any feedback for the driver (e.g. how to find your address if its one of those tricky ones). 

Receiving Books and Computers

We donate and ship books and computers from the UK to individuals and organisation in Africa. You can request donated books and computers for an individual or organisational library in Africa and fund the shipping and clearing costs. Get more information and complete our application form via our request page.

Books2Africa’s Distribution Centres in Africa play a crucial role in achieving our mission by acting as learning and distribution hubs where individuals, institutions and communities can access and read thousands of books across a variety of academic levels free of charge, as well as having the option to acquire any book by contributing up to £1 per book to fund our distribution centre costs. Find more information on our Africa Distribution Centre page. 

Charity Shop FAQs

We try our best to get your order to you as soon as possible. After dispatch, our standard delivery (Royal Mail First Class) typically arrives the next day in the UK (but can take up to 7 days), in 6 days to the EU and 10 days worldwide. It is important to note that delivery times are out of our control, as we do not deliver the goods ourselves.

If the error is ours, we will reprint free of charge. If the error is yours, we will reprint for 25% of the original amount. If we have sent you the wrong size garment, we will absolutely remake it for you in the right size when you return it. 

The guidance measurements given next to the shirts are supposed to represent what size person they fit. They are not the actual measurements of the garment itself, which naturally need to be larger than the person they are designed to fit.

Firstly, please ignore the washing instructions in the garment itself. These are for blank garments and not printed ones.

Wash your shirts at 40 degrees or less. Iron on reverse (cool). Do not tumble dry.

Whilst Royal Mail normally deliver all first class post within 1-2 working days, they can on occasion take longer. In the unlikely event that your goods do not arrive, allow 7 days before calling us. We cannot authorise any remakes before this time has passed as Royal Mail have been known to deliver within this time.

However, if you paid to have Express delivery, contact us immediately as we can provide you with the tracking reference to chase it with the carrier.