Hi, we’re Lilipad.
We exist to make the world a little fairer.
Whether it’s hearing a story in their own language or creating art from scratch, we believe imagination can be a force for justice.
Our work centers children living on the margins: those displaced by conflict, growing up in shelters, or navigating systems never designed for them. Through multilingual libraries and culturally-rooted storytelling, we create spaces where they feel safe, think freely, and begin to reclaim their narratives, on their own terms.
The Problem
We establish libraries where they’re needed most: inside refugee shelters, youth homes, care institutions, and overlooked neighborhoods.
Each Lilipad Library is a safe, welcoming space filled with books in children’s native languages - stories that reflect their lives, and creative workshops led by trusted facilitators. We work closely with community partners to make sure every library is rooted in local context and built with care.
Our approach is simple but powerful: meet children where they are, and create spaces and opportunities that nurture well-being, confidence and resilience. Whether through a poetry workshop in Berlin or a writing session in Casablanca, we help children reconnect with their sense of self.
The Lilipad Solution
In shelters, refugee housing, and underfunded systems, children are growing up without access to multilingual books, cultural connection, or safe places to creatively express themselves.
These are the children most at risk of being left out of public life, not by accident, but because the systems around them are overstretched, fragmented, or never designed for their needs to begin with. Many are navigating new languages, complex trauma, or environments where learning comes last.
Girls in institutional care. Refugee children in temporary housing. Young people raised in spaces built for control, not creativity. Their potential is intact, but the support structures are missing.
The Desired Change
We want every child to grow up with the confidence to shape their own story, and the tools to do it.
When children are surrounded by books that reflect who they are, guided by trusted adults who speak their native language, and given space to create, they begin to speak more freely, take up space, and imagine new possibilities for themselves.
Over time, we see something shift: confidence grows. A sense of belonging takes hold. These small changes build resilience - both for children and their communities.
This is the long-term impact of Lilipad: not just improved literacy or access to books, but stronger foundations for inclusion, dignity, and possibility.
Lilipad’s work is grounded in two main countries: Germany and Morocco - different contexts, but a shared focus on reaching children who are too often left out.
In Germany, we focus on Berlin, where refugee and migrant children live in transitional housing with limited access to multilingual books, reading support, or safe, creative spaces. We’ve opened 11 libraries across the city, each one seeking to foster a sense of belonging.
In Morocco, our work spans Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech and beyond - with a particular focus on girls in institutional care. Our libraries and workshops provide space for creative expression, cultural connection, and feminist storytelling that helps children reclaim their narratives.
Lilipad also completed previous projects and established libraries in Jinja (Uganda) and Paris (France).
Where We Work
What we do
1. We establish children’s libraries
A safe, inspiring, and warm spot where kids can access books and learning materials. We provide high-quality books in different languages that promote diversity, representation, and inclusion - and fun.
2. We provide reading educational experiences
We bring these spaces to life through workshops, events, and readings, to inspire, educate, inform, and engage. For many children, it’s a chance to meet other kids from different backgrounds and build crucial confidence in a social setting.
How we do it
First, we identify a local institution to partner with (a school, community centre, refugee accommodation, etc.). Second, our partner provides us with a space that we transform into a children’s multilingual library. Once our library is open, we usually start a long-term collaboration with our local partner and organise various educational workshops and reading programs for the children in their communities.
Lilipad has two working models and each determines how we work with our local partners:
These libraries represent our main working model in which Lilipad provides long-term support in the form of educational workshops and/or through the sponsoring of a Lilipad Librarian.
1. Core Libraries
These libraries are run independently by the partner organisation. Unlike our core libraries, Lilipad isn’t regularly involved in how the library is run, apart from the initial set-up and guidance.