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An interesting library effort in Mozambique:

In July 2010, Books for Kids Africa director Mary Jo Amani traveled to the villages of Vinho, Vunduzi, and Mbulaua in Sofala (Mozambique) for three weeks to distribute 1130 high quality children's books to school and community library programs, funded in part by a $6610 U.S. Embassy small grant. Books for Kids Africa staff trained teachers in each of the three elementary schools on how to read books out loud and to use the books in mobile classroom library programs where students have the chance to select books of interest and read individually several times each week.

UgCLA (the Uganda Community Libraries Association) held its sixth workshop from July 11-13 this year (see the pictures below). The workshop was funded largely by Pockets of Change, as part of its support for our Children's Book Project, and  Hawk Children's Fund provided some additional funds to allow our new members to attend and to support a book-making project for a couple of the sessions. The workshop was held, once again, at the Kabubbu Community Library, which is affiliated to a conference centre and resort where we could all be put up.

Every workshop that UgCLA runs seems to be bigger and better than the last. In this case, we had 55 people attending, representing a large majority of our 67 member libraries. The activities were all focused on how we can better help children in our libraries. First, those libraries that had received books under the Children's Book Project reported on what they had done with them, and everybody present had a chance to ask questions and make comments. A packet of 80-odd books has been given to each of ten libraries, and while they all used them in different ways, the impact seems to have been great everywhere, bringing in increasing numbers of children and encouraging adults to read as well. Then we spent an afternoon working on photographs of everyday Ugandan people, things, and activities: participants designated the themes in the new thematic curriculum for lower primary classes that the photographs could be used for and wrote text for each picture appropriate to the designated themes. Our plan is to collate this work to form  a set of picture books that could be used not only in primary schools but in nursery schools and for family literacy projects - for we have found that one of the major deficits in locally produced material is picture books for young children. Next day, the librarians at Kabubbu showed the participants how they could make supplementary material from the books they had in their libraries, material that would be fun for children to work with and that would make the books more accessible - and one of them had a group of eleven volunteers act out a story with an accompanying little song that she had made up. Lastly, we had a session devoted to "fun and games", which, this being Africa, evolved into everyone dancing to the beat of drums played by children from the Kabubbu primary school.

In short, a good time was had by all, but it's important to emphasize that this is not the sole purpose of our workshops. We have found that through them our library managers pick up ideas from their colleagues as well as from us, and that all the libraries are run, in consequence, a little better. The participants get to know one another and have by now built up a strong sense of solidarity, which is expressed in practical offers of help to one another. On this occasion, for example, the library at the Suubi Centre in Masaka District made arrangements for its new librarian to spend some time at Kitengesa and Kabubbu to get some training. Then, of course, the actual workshop sessions will result, we hope, in libraries exploring new activities and developing new materials. We have yet to see what will come up as a result of this last workshop, but we are confident that many libraries will now be using pictures more and many librarians will be making word cards and exercises to go with the children's books that they have.

I missed this update from Meghan Coughlin's blog...

It has been awhile since Adelaide or I have posted an update about all of the great things happening at the library. And I am happy to tell you all that things are great! I don't have any pictures to share with you at the moment, but I just got news from Adelaide. Last month the private school in Niankorodougou used the library for reports on African authors. Since the library opened in June of 2008, the library committee has worked to encourage students that reading is a great way to build on the education they receive in school. The library has hosted reading competitions for different classes and Moussa (our librarian) has visited the schools on numerous occasions to promote its value to the community. I was so excited to hear from Adelaide that the school is now incorporating the library into its curriculum through graded projects like the African author report. Such projects can only mean more good things for the library, the school and the community. But the good news doesn't end there... When I left Burkina in December of 2008 the library committee was working on building an outdoor reading "gazebo" for everyone to use as the space inside the library cannot accommodate more than 15 people comfortably. Adelaide helped to complete this project and is now working on even greater improvements to the building! Next month the community will work to install a Map of the World wall. Students will outline a scaled map of the world and then paint it in for everyone to see. With minimal access to view maps this will be a great way for both students and community members to get a better picture of where Burkina fits in geography. On the other side of the library, the community will install chalk boards for everyone to use. We'll try to get you more pictures and updates later...

The architect of the Bolgatanga Regional Library.  I kind of liked the building when I first saw it (inside)... it is in serious decrpitude today, unfortunately, but still worth visiting. 

J. Max Bond Jr., Influential African-American Architect, Dies at 73 - Obituary from February 2009, New York Times.

J. Max Bond Jr., long the most influential African-American architect in New York and one of a few black architects of national prominence, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 73 and lived in Manhattan.

His early career took him to France, where he worked with André Wogenscky; to New York, where he was at Gruzen & Partners and Pedersen & Tilney; and to Ghana, where he worked for the government from 1964 to 1967. There, in the northern part of the country, he designed the Bolgatanga Regional Library, four buildings under the broad shade of a tabletop-like roof intended, along with natural ventilation, to eliminate the need for air-conditioning.

Browsing the betterworldbooks site (actually ordering books) I see they are touting a Congressional resolution to spend about $2 million to ship 150 containers of used books to Africa.  The question is whether this is the right mix... I guess this will enable Books for Africa to empty their warehouse... a good thing for short term, maybe, but seems like a more thoughtful public policy would be directed at developing local book production capacity and lowering cost of relevant books in African countries... I'm of mixed mind... it isn't a zero sum game, but I wonder whether the actual cost isn't higher of shipping books, since most of them will never be read (i.e. ship 100 books for $10, and two are actually read, versus buy 2 local books for $10 and have them read 100 times...)  If FAVL had a lobbyist, we'd be doing exactly this I guess, but more oriented towards our somewhat different philosophy...  Nuance and complexity = inaction.

For many children in Africa, the gift of books truly is a gift of hope. Access to an education is one of the only opportunities young people have to end the cycle of poverty and attain a better quality of life than previous generations. Wars, economic crises, poverty, malnutrition, and illiteracy plague many areas of Africa. According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 40 percent of school-age children in Africa do not attend school. Forty-six million African children have never set foot in a classroom. Most African children who attend school have never owned a book of their own. In many classrooms, 10-20 students share one textbook. Many people in the United States take these educational necessities for granted, but children in Africa cherish books. Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum has introduced House Resolution 3701, called "More Books For Africa," which calls for a major appropriation to ship more books to Africa. Congressman Keith Ellison (MN) is a co-sponsor. Please send this petition to your representatives and ask them to sign on to this legislation. By doing so, you will help put more books into the hands of children in Africa who are hungry to read, hungry to learn.

Accrabooksandthings a nice, somewhat snarky (but we love that in blogosphere) take on the launch of the Ghana book fair due to be held in Nov. 2010.... wish I could be there.

I went to the official launch of the 9th Ghana International Book Fair 2010 at the GNAT Hall in Accra (on 22 June 2010). Although it was a relatively short function - less than an hour and a half - and started only half an hour late, it was in my opinion very much in the traditional mode. There was an audience of maybe 100 to 150, of whom at least half were basic school students in uniform. There were about ten people sitting on the dais, which at the GNAT Hall is quite high up. There was also a banner behind the speakers. As usual those giving the speeches did not address any parts of their speeches to the children present, apart from asking the group from the Osu Children's Library Fund to come and do a couple of short traditional dances. Of course one of the major stories online quoted the Deputy Minister of Education, Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, MP and the representative from the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, Peter Achiaa, and totally ignored comments/speeches made by either the Chairman, who is the owner of SEDCO, a major representative of Pearson books here in Ghana, or that of the Ghana Book Publishers Association President. That of course is typical reporting for many local Ghanaian journalists, especially those working for the state newspapers and/or the Ghana News Agency. Admittedly the coverage in the Ghanaian Times newspaper, which is actually a media partner/sponsor of the Fair, was a little better, and actually talked about what the Fair was about. Plus there was a photo, which always helps. But interestingly enough the headline in this article rather focussed on the revitalisation of the Ghana Library Board rather than the launch of the Book Fair. In neither case was there was a reference to a relevant website, and though posters for the fair were distributed to all present (see above), the brochures for the Fair lacked basic information such contact details, whether phone, fax, email or web. At least the official website for the Ghana International Book Fair does indicate the dates of 2-6 November 2010, and there are contact details, but how would someone find this site?

URLCODA is the acronym for Uganda Rural Literacy and Community Development Association. It is centered in the West Nile region, which is in the extreme northwest of Uganda, in the corner between the borders with Congo and Sudan. The region is quite remote, and its people are very poor, especially since communication with the rest of Uganda was difficult, and many people were displaced, during the long years when the Lord's Resistance Army was fighting the government.

URLCODA began at Makerere University in the late 1990s when students from the region got together to address the poverty. They were led by Willy Ngaka, who was studying  adult literacy in the Institute for Adult Education. Now it is a fully recognized NGO with an active Positive Group (comprised of people who are HIV positive), many affiliated adult literacy groups, and a fully developed practice of teaching intergenerational literacy (in which unschooled adults and primary school dropouts teach each other); and, since it is a member of UgCLA, it has, of course, a library.

When I first visited this library in January of this year it consisted only of 250 books, which were kept in a storeroom in Willy's house in the village of Lokotoro. The library coordinator, Jasindo Afebua, would take the books out as needed for the intergenerational classes, which were held in the garage; there was no dedicated library building. The books, as well as the plastic chairs that the library had, had been bought in 2008 with a grant of $1000 from the US Embassy, distributed through UgCLA.

This year, I am glad to say, UgCLA has been able to help URLCODA again. Late in 2009, the Hawk Children's Fund asked to identify appropriate sites for a Rural Solar Demonstration Project. The Fund would provide $15,000 in all to provide solar electricity and to do any necessary building work for it to be used. We recommended the URLCODA and Mpolyabigere Community Libraries to divide the grant between them. URLCODA thereupon completed a building that it had already begun in Willy's compound, roofing it with iron sheets that it had already secured for another purpose. The solar electricity was installed last week, and the new building was officially opened on Sunday. Almost immediately it was full of children busily reading.

But that is not all. I was there last week not only to see the new library building but also to deliver more books and another, smaller, sum of money, for URLCODA's Positive Group to use. The books are on health issues, and the group will translate a few of the easier ones into Lugbara and will also write about their own experiences with HIV in the same language. The grant for this work again came from the Hawk Children's Fund, to which we are all very grateful.

In addition, I visited no fewer than nine other libraries in the region, all of which are affiliated to URLCODA. Eight of them are already members of UgCLA, and one other will be joining soon. Most of these "libraries" are actually primary school classrooms where an adult literacy group is allowed to meet, and such books as they have may be used by the primary school children too. One of the most successful is the Queen of Heaven Community Library in Yumbe, near the Sudan border. Here there is an active women's group, which is engaging in a number of income generating activities and which was one of the winners of books in UgCLA's Children's Book Project that was funded by Pockets of Change (see my post of May 5, 2010). The books are now displayed on a bookshelf in the classroom, and there is a regular timetable for children to come in and read them. Others are less well off. One, at a village called Endru, was constrained to leave the primary school where it was started and now meets under a tree in a compound a mile or two down the road. It has virtually no books, but it displays with pride a computer keyboard that the women made out of clay; their leader learned her letters from this sort of keyboard, and she can now write her name on a real computer. Another, the Sida Community Library at Tuku village, used to have books, but they, and the shelf on which they were kept, got eaten by termites. So the women resolved to put up a building for their library. They made the bricks themselves and got the walls up four years ago; but they got stuck at the roof because they had no money for iron sheets. So  the walls still stand, while the women meet under a tree and learn their letters from a blackboard.

The needs in such a region are so great as to be overwhelming. The primary schools, however, are beginning to get books as the government finally gets round to providing them. At one school we saw a lovely set of Primary One readers in Lugbara, though we were distressed that the packets had not yet been opened; and in another the head teacher was actively promoting the use of the school's books and appreciated the adult group's commitment to reading. URLCODA is also producing little readers in Lugbara, and UgCLA has already contributed significantly through its support (thanks to the American Embassy and the Hawk Children's Fund) of the "mother library" at Lokotoro. I believe that we should continue to build up that library so that it can lend books to the other ones and, as Willy suggested, have the primary schools send their children to Lokotoro on a regular basis to spend a night and enjoy the electricity.

The URLCODA library and its affiliates are the kind of institution that UgCLA exists to support--and they, in turn, provide the dynamism that sustains UgCLA. It is a wonderfully productive partnership, so my question now is, are there such partnerships among libraries and library associations elsewhere in Africa? And if not, why not?

For more about URLCODA, click here.

 

UgCLA (the Uganda Community Libraries Association) will be three years old next month, so I'm writing to report on how this toddler is doing.

First, let me clarify UgCLA's relationship to FAVL. I myself am the chief link, being on the Board of both, and FAVL helps UgCLA significantly by acting as a channel for donations from the USA. UgCLA, for its part, promotes FAVL's aims in Uganda. It operates quite differently from FAVL, though, since it does not itself establish libraries. Rather, it seeks out existing ones, helps them to develop, and encourages the foundation of more. It does these things in five main ways:

·         A lot of travelling! I myself am trying to visit each one of UgCLA's member libraries so as to encourage them and give them advice. So far I've covered about three quarters of them.

·         Workshops. Since its foundation, UgCLA has organized two national workshops a year, to which every member library is invited to send a representative. These workshops are invaluable, not only because they provide training in running libraries but also because librarians can meet and share ideas. By now they've developed a strong sense of community and clear leaders have emerged among them. The only trouble is that the libraries are now too many (see below)--so from next year we will be organizing a single national conference instead in combination with regional workshops.

·         Distributions. We try to make partnerships each year that will enable us to distribute goodies among our member libraries, usually on a competitive basis, and to provide training for the competition through our workshops. The first such distribution, funded by the US Embassy in Kampala, was of six grants of $1000 each; the second was of four scholarships to attend the 6^th Pan African Conference on Reading for All in Dar es Salaam (to which we added a small conference on community libraries in Lushoto); the third, this year, was of ten packets of locally purchased children's books. Next year we are working towards a "Libraries for Health" project in which we hope to distribute books about health (especially HIV-AIDS) together with funds for organizing reading camps or workshops on the subject.

·         Links to funders for individual libraries. We are building up relationships with small-scale funders and advising them on which libraries they could work with for particular projects. A recent example is the work we've been doing with Hawk Children's Fund, of the University of Maryland's Eastern Shore Campus (see http://hawkchildrensfund.org/). HCF wanted to support a rural solar electricity project, so we identified two libraries that could make good use of solar electricity, and then administered the grant that the fund gave us. Now children at the URLCODA library in Arua District and the Mpolyabigere library in Namutumba District can read at night (see the posts on each of these two libraries).

·         Volunteers. UgCLA also hosts volunteers: that is, we identify appropriate placements for them, depending on their interests, and arrange with the host library for their accommodation. We have had four volunteers so far and are receiving two more this month.

UgCLA is definitely fulfilling a need, for its growth over three years has been extraordinary. When it was launched, in August 2007, it was joined by 14 libraries. The number rose slowly at first, to 16 by July 2008. But a year later it had reached 41, and now, in June 2010, UgCLA has 64 member libraries. All are local initiatives and most have no foreign support; and it has to be said that some are notional, having no buildings and few books. But there is the seed of a library in every place: a primary school, an adult literacy class, or a local organization devoted to literacy and development.  The idea of a library resonates with Ugandans' enthusiasm for education and their disenchantment with what the schools are offering. It is the kind of modest institution that local people feel they can support--though of course they always appreciate outside help--and if well led it can become a real centre for community development. UgCLA is dedicated to helping them to get the help that they need in order to flourish, but also, and more importantly, to helping them to help themselves.

For more, see UgCLA's own website: www.ugcla.org.