How often have you thought about donating books to a school but have had no idea what its needs are? In a few months there will be an app to help you, thanks to the TechWomen Seed Grant awarded to five South African women.The women will use the $2500 grant to develop a mobile app, Books4Mzansi, that connects sponsors and donors to under-resourced schools.Angel Shozi, one of the app's developers and an IT specialist, said she and her colleagues wanted to develop an app that would contribute to society by promoting a culture of reading.The appwill host a searchable directory of schools around the country and their needs. Donors and sponsors will be able to search the directory to identify schools they could help."This results in donating with a purpose," Shozi said.The group pitched the idea for the app as part of the American Techwomen Programme, which aims to empower women in science, technology, engineering and maths in developing countries.Part of the programme involves the women taking part in a five-week mentorship scheme in Silicon Valley, San Francisco."While doing our research we realised that primary school pupils' literacy levels are low. This is mainly due to the lack of reading materials in township and rural schools ," said Shozi.The Bookery, a non-profit organisation that sets up and supports school libraries and works to end the shortage of books in schools, welcomed the development of the app.Its spokesman, Jonny Wilkinson, said 90% of public schools in this country had no access to a library."Children don't have access to books other than their textbooks and almost no reading is done at home, which contributes to the lack of a reading culture," said Wilkinson...