ATTLEBORO –
Sofiana Azzouz has lived a lot of places – and done a lot of things – for someone who just celebrated her 18th birthday.
The Bishop Feehan High School senior was born in Providence, but has lived in Slovakia, France and Algeria. She speaks fluent English, French and Slovak. It is the latter two languages that she speaks around her home in Seekonk.
And a little less than a year ago, she co-founded with junior Raahil Ganguly of the Wheeler School in Providence a non-profit organization, Pages Past Perimeters, that collects book donations and distributes them to 10 states and five countries.
So far, they have 22,000 books and counting. And they have 25 chapters in several states with students just like them bringing, as their mission statement says, “high-quality English books from communities of abundance to underserved schools, libraries, orphanages, refugee centers, shelters, and children’s hospitals around the world.”
And they think they have just begun.
“To know (the books) going to someone who really needs them, that’s really nice,” Azzouz said.
Pages Past Perimeters began after Azzouz and family took a trip to Algeria where she met some cousins. They could speak English, mostly because they followed popular social media sites like TikTok and Instagram.
When Azzouz showed the cousins books in English, she found they could not read.
“Would you like to learn?” she asked. They said they would.
Azzouz knew from her own experience that the best way to learn how to read is through books. She asked Ganguly, who speaks fluent English, French and Bengali, to help her get some books donations through friends and family.
They were overwhelmed with donations, getting 16 boxes full. Her father was only able to bring one suitcase full on a trip back to Algeria.
With all those books at their disposal, Azzouz and Ganguly decided they needed to do something more. So, last November, they founded Pages Past Perimeters to distribute the books and collect more.
At first, there was a learning curve in terms of setting up a non-profit. For instance, Azzouz’s personal email address was the main way to contact the organization until they set up a website (pagespastperimeters.org), an email address and an Instagram account.
But Pages Past Perimeters quickly built steam, with dozens of offers for book donations and, especially, among other high school students who want to start a chapter in their school.
And they have almost 3,000 followers on social media.
“Not bad for a little non-profit started by kids,” Azzouz said.
Pages Past Perimeters accepts used books on almost any topic. Since most of the donations now are going to middle schools, the most popular donations are young adult or light fiction – books that high school students may have outgrown.
“So many people have books just sitting there on shelves,” Azzouz said. “A lot of people are happy to donate.”
Azzouz graduates in May and Ganguly the following year. While both expect to keep some connection with their non-profit, they know the demands of college won’t allow them to participate like they have in the past year.
That’s why they have already recruited other Feehan student volunteers to operate the school’s chapter when they leave.
And they know their mission is worthwhile and sustainable.
“We’ve gotten so many thank you cards,” Azzouz said. “It’s so heartwarming.”
