Library Project: Bare School

Today was the day…and not a moment to soon! I'm glad I was able to get out there before heading home for a few weeks.

 

Tina worked so hard in the last year and put a call out to her friends around the world. That callw as answered and books were sent to Kibungo. Since then, I have been working with the head teachers at two schools to set up a space that would work for a library. There were two main criteria: 1) That the books were kept secure and 2) (and most importantly) that children had access to them.

 

On Monday I was not feeling well but Leandre came anyway to get half of the books. He put them in a big ole rice sack, put them on the back of the moto, then into a bus and out to the village of Mutendeli where his school, Bare, is.  Today I managed to visit the school. I’m feeling better and there is no rain! When I arrived I was more than impressed. The library was clean the shelves were up and all the library books and textbooks had been neatly placed. I worked with the library team – a group of four teachers that the head teacher selected – and we determined our objectives for the next month. We have a schedule of classroom visits to begin in the second term (May) and we will post this up. We will also have an assembly to introduce the children to the concept of  a library – how to hold a book, how to share a book and how to return a book back to its place. Libraries in schools are virtually unheard of for many children and this is a new concept. The teachers had a chance to look at the books today too. The most important thing is that the children use the books and this is the next phase of the library project.

 

For everyone who sent books WELL DONE! Thank you!!! If you are interested in donating to the library, please send me  - or Tina – an email. The quality of the books that had been send were outstanding and I would like this to continue. The books should be new or hardly used. They should also be mailed by the end of April to ensure that they arrive while I’m here – the school does not yet have a post box of its own. I will write more later and thank all of you by name. For now, thanks again and soon…the pictures will be of children reading them!

Our library team: Peter, Aphrodise, Egide and Clarisse

Teachers get a first look at the books

The Bare Staff in the library

A picture of everyone!

Patrick arrived early and they boys were interested in the moto....

....until they noticed the camera.

And they they REALLY noticed the camera

Me and Jeremy with Leandre in his office