LWB's origins are rooted in the Master of Library and Information Science program at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada). In February 2005, a group of ambitious students were so inspired by the efforts of an Angolan colleague to build a library for his community that they decided to partner with him in achieving his dream and to found an organization that would benefit libraries around the world.

Biblioteca Tutangi, which translates from Portuguese and Umbundu into English as “let us study, let us learn”, is LWB’s first international initiative. This library will serve all post-secondary students in the community of Huambo, Angola, regardless of their religion, political beliefs, or ethnicity.  

Access to information via libraries is of paramount importance in post-civil war Angola.  According to Jorge Chimbinda, the local liaison for the Catholic Archdiocese of Huambo: “If Angolans want to design our own future, if we want to be free in body and in mind, the sure way is to embrace study.” Jorge inspired us all at the LWB-Angola launch party, when he spoke of the power of books: “Everyone who starves for knowledge can be fed by a book, and its content is not diminished… A book teaches in silence, however, its effect is eloquent. A book liberates, a book plants the roots of development. Books are irreplaceable tools for improving the quality of education in Angola and elsewhere.”  

Phase I of LWB-Angola will deliver and arrange nursing and medical textbooks, training for  library staff, a library development plan, and, importantly we will work with our Angolan partners to identify an energy source and an Internet connection for the library.