(GIN) – Worldreader, a "market-oriented, not-for-profit organization focused on increasing access to books in developing countries" is testing an e-book reader designed for developing countries at a school for orphans in Ghana.
The organization says the Kindle can give developing countries wide access to books since e-books are less than one-third of the price of a printed book. Although pricy to start, a Kindle essentially gives access to thousands of free, public domain books.
For the trial that started this week, 20 Kindles were provided to a school of 11-14 year olds in the city of Ayenyah. Six books were loaded onto the Kindles, including a collection of short stories called Folktales from Ghana.
According to the co-founder of Worldreader, David Risher, formerly of Amazon, the Kindle was chosen because of its ease of use, availability of ebooks, and its global wireless support but other devices may be introduced at a later date. It will be financed through fundraising and donations from Amazon.com at the beginning.