People scooping up secondhand books at our clearance book fair took away bargains and helped fund our retreat centre.

The book fair is now an annual event at our Jos headquarters compound. It both raises money for projects and also raises awareness of our work among local communities.

This year money raised is going towards the cost of building a retreat centre in the compound. Foundations have already been laid and the next stage is constructing the first floor.

More than 300 people visited the fair over its two days in mid-November, spending one million naira (£2,150). Thousands of books were displayed on tables and groundsheets in the hall next to our charity shop.

“People were so excited to get our free offer this year,” said international coordinator Tassie Ghata. “Those who spent more than one thousand naira (£2.15) were offered five books for free from a selection of titles we’d had for a while.

“We now have very few books left to sell, which is good as we are receiving another shipment from Book Aid in February.”