Frequently asked questions

What is the purpose of maktaba.org?
Maktaba.org is a project of Elimu Yetu, created to help people read and discuss great books that improve their lives, develop their talents, and enable them to fulfill their missions.
Maktaba.org offers free education for all ages in Swahili and English for readers in East Africa and beyond. We have curated collections for
Elimu Yetu is located in the city of Arusha, Tanzania, in the neighborhood of Kijenge. Our library is located on the edge of the community commons of Tindigani, close to the ward office of Kimandolu.
We welcome visitors in Arusha, Tanzania!

Plot 126, Block GG, Kijenge Tindigani, Kimandolu
PO Box 837, Arusha, Tanzania
www.elimuyetu.org
maktaba@elimuyetu.org
1) We connect people in the community and around the world to read together and learn from one another.
2) We build local capacity for resilience, self-reliance and growth.
3) We promote a culture of scholarship in East Africa and the United States.
We are searching for creative ideas to improve this website! Please don’t hesitate to send your opinions and suggest changes to maktaba@elimuyetu.org.
Elimu Yetu Development Organization is a charitable NGO providing free education to children, youth, and adults in Tanzania. Elimu Yetu means Our Education in Swahili, the language of East Africa, because we created our school to harness the local knowledge and hidden resources in the community to inspire and equip the next generation with the skills of self-reliance. We offer free programs for all ages including:
Preschool
K-12 After-School Programs
Vocational Education
Computer Certificate Programs
Youth Leadership Mentoring
Parenting Classes
Public Library
If you would like to become a student and enroll in free classes in Arusha, please visit our center in Kijenge. We take students of all ages and levels of education. If there are no openings for new students, please don’t give up: we will add your name to our Waiting List and call you when a spot becomes available. We welcome everyone to apply for a library card and borrow books for free
You can contribute by joining maktaba.org and participating in our reading community! Also if you have books you've already read, consider donating them to the Elimu Yetu Library so they can be read again and shared by others. We will notify you when your book is borrowed so you can connect with other readers. You can support the site with a donation in any amount to Elimu Yetu Development Organization, a nonprofit nongovernmental organization providing free education to children, youth and adults in Arusha, Tanzania. Please contact maktaba@elimuyetu.org. We depend on donations from readers like you to enable us to provide free education in East Africa and beyond. Thank you so much.
1) Join and fill out your profile
2) Read books online or borrow books in Arusha
3) Browse your suggested books, or search by language, subject or format.
4) Save books to your reading lists
5) See what your friends are reading, and connect with other readers who share your interests.
Maktaba.org has ebooks, Open Educational Resources, and public domain classics in English and Kiswahili. We also have hard copy books available to borrow for Elimu Yetu Library Members in Tanzania. Browse all books by subject
Our content collection is applicable to schools in all countries and was not designed to follow any specific national curriculum. We have curated books in Kiswahili and English to promote Education for Self-Reliance for all ages and levels of education. Read more about our philosophy
1) Read a great book
2) Discuss it with friends, family, and teachers who care about you
3) Repeat
In order to access all the features of Maktaba.org you’ll need to confirm your email by clicking a link in the email we sent to the email address you provided when you initially registered. If you didn’t get our email, please check your spam or promotions folder or click resend confirmation. If you no longer have access to the email you used to register, please create a new account or contact the website administrator at maktaba@elimuyetu.org
To change the language of the website, click on your preferred language at the bottom of the page in the footer. To filter books by language on the books page click en to see only English books, or sw to see only books in Kiswahili.
We encourage members to interact with each other and share their own writing through book summaries, comments, and correspondence.

Community Standards

  • Post only content that is good, true and valuable
  • Respect others in community discussions
  • No ads or illegal content
Your content may have been removed for violating our community standards listed above. We moderate content to protect the safety of our community of readers of all ages. For example we may hide or delete abusive comments, spam and ads, copyrighted material posted without permission, and inappropriate profile pictures. If you believe your content was removed in error, please contact maktaba@elimuyetu.org
Yes, we use cookies and collect your personal information to allow you to login and connect with other users, improve our services, and suggest books for you. We do not allow third party cookies.
Yes. We only share your information for limited purposes, like improving maktaba.org. We promise we will never sell your personal information or share it with third parties for advertising or commercial purposes.
You can choose whether your profile is visible to other library members or shown publicly on the internet. To see or change your preferences, edit your profile settings