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FAVL board member Leslie Gray is in Burkina Faso right now, doing some research on cotton farming and agrarian change in Burkina (see her edited book Hanging by a Thread: Cotton, Globalization, and Poverty in Africa with William Moseley).

We have our house in Bereba village, of course, and she went by the Bereba library today.  She was chatting with Ivette and Zoumizou, the librarians.  School was let out, kids came streaming out of the classrooms... then what she noticed was that many of them, quite matter-of-factly, stopped at the library, exchanged their books and got new ones, and others stopped to read something quick, before continuing to home and lunch... 

It was all very normal.  Wow!  We both suddenly got goose-bumps, realizing what an incredible transformation, from pretty much zero books to pretty-much a normal small library, all thanks to you, our generous donors. 

FAVL is often asked "How can I help?" and when it comes to librarians, students and teachers, one of our answers is "raise funds through a Read-A-Thon." They are not only a wonderful way to raise money but are a great method for introducing or encouraging students to read African-themed books. And, like the participating families of Melrose Public Library Children's Room found out, they are a lot of fun!

"Dear FAVL,
This summer, the Melrose Public Library Children's Room arranged a read-a-thon in support of FAVL. A display of African-themes books was set up and the kids, as part of the annual summer reading program, were given a bead for every African book they read. The beads went into a jar, and the goal was to fill the jar with beads. At the end of the summer reading program, there were 169 beads in the jar. The kids kept their end of the deal so we kept ours: included, please find 12 checks totaling $325 from individuals/families in Melrose, MA. The kids had a great time reading about Africa. And I felt as good about expanding their perceptions of Africa as I do about supporting FAVL. Thank you for FAVL's excellent model and commitment to steady, sustained growth in Africa's villages."

Thank you to all the students, families and Melrose Public Library Children's Room staff who participated in the read-a-thon and contributed to FAVL!

Read here to see how you can organize your own Read-A-Thon. 

This week was nice for FAVL.  We got a $2,000 grant to printing more copies of books relevant to kids in villages where we operate, from the NorCal Peace Corps Association, a $3,000 grant from Lisle International to support summer reading camps in Burkina Faso in 2012, especially the international and intercultural exchange part of the camps, and just this week we received a very generous donation from Harriette and McLouis Robinet to support libraries and reading programs!

Thanks to all for the grants and donation, and thanks to our other generous donors and supporters.  The other day I was watching a video from one of the reading camps, posted earlier on the blog, and I stopped it when seeing the big smile of one of the girls in the camp... unrestrained, pure contentment.... (plus a lot of learning)... that's what it is all about!

One of the things that is an extremely important addition to a village library is a light. During the school year, students go to school until late afternoon and often return home to do chores. The only time they have to study and read is in the evening. In villages without electricity, if there is a solar panel, it can charge a battery from which the library can run a light. These materials are not available at every village library, so those who have them are very lucky.

On August 21, the village library of Karaba received a generous donation from the husband of the librarian. The battery that charges the light in the library was broken, and he decided to replace it.

The donation was made because he feels strongly that the library is an important establishment in his village. He is the president of a union of farmers in the province of Tuy, where Karaba is located. Before having this position, he was the secretary in an office. He saw the importance of the ability to read and write, and became a supporter of the library in Karaba. He wanted to give the library the battery because he knows that the light aids students who seek to read and/or study at the library in the evenings. With the battery, the library will now be able to be available to students and other readers to take advantage of their evening free time.

From Abagne Simon a parent in Sherigu village:

Congratulations to FAVL/CESRUD. Thanks be to the librarians and all those concerned to the existence of these libraries. My greetings also go the sponsors of the Reading Camps and kudos to the person or persons that brought this idea. The expression that I am putting on this paper is not just mere mouth say but touched at and experience by seeing the gradual improvement in some of Children who had the chance in taking part in the Camps.

In fact I personally visited this camp several times to see what they have been doing. Trustfully, I saw something that made my day so full of joy. The guidance of the camp teachers made the kids busy reading and could not have time to joke or sitting idly.

The were learning how to spell words and find their meanings I had the chance to interact with them one day, it was there that I know kids are capable of reading for long and can read more books like grown ups.  During our interaction they were telling me the number of books they read. some read thirteen (13) books, others ten books and so on. This inflame me with great joy because most of the kids whether they are in school or on holidays would not one day spare time to read even one book because they are not use to it. This problem is ascending and hence leading many to total failure in final exams.

Reading Camp is a good method brought to the libraries. Yes, I appreciated it and wish it continue this way and if possible spread to the other part of Ghana. Which will build up our children and brighten their future.

I would also like to appeal to people in high authority, eg The municipal Assembly, NGo's, and all those who have the children of Ghana at heart to help build this idea of reading camp and implement it all over Ghana to reduce the massive failure that we are harvesting every year.  I call on parents, Care takers and everybody to embrace this method and also help contribute their share if the need arise.

I'm sorry but with gold prices going crazy high, I just don't understand why the Treasury doesn't sell off maybe $1 billion to fund like 100,000 community libraries in Africa for 5 years... If we all agreed to do that if gold went up to $1900, we'd be exactly the same well-being as we are today, but there would be 500 readers in 100,000 communities ... 50 million people!  Better off... by all standards of being better off.*  Heck, 50 million readers in Africa would make us better off than 500,000 oz of gold, no?  That's 100 people per measly ounce.  (The U.S. holds like more than 150 million oz.)

*All religions and creeds and moral codes say reading 50 books is better than zero, even if Danielle Steele.

Deb Garvey, FAVL Treasurer, writes in:

I had a wonderful, all-afternoon visit August 18 with long-time FAVL supporters Harriette and McLouis Robinet in Oak Park, outside my hometown of Chicago. We discussed the role of FAVL libraries in fostering literacy and educational advancement in underserved African villages. The Robinets are committed to helping provide library access to others, especially youth, partially to counteract the official discrimination and barriers they faced in using public and even university libraries in their youth and young adulthood in Washington, DC and Louisiana.

The Robinets are a truly wonderful, socially engaged couple with a deep love of God and and an urge to respond to the needs of others less fortunate than themselves. They're especially excited about three FAVL initiatives: publishing culturally-relevant books in local languages through the efforts of the undergraduates in our Reading West Africa study-abroad program; installation of solar panels that enable villagers and youths to use libraries in the evening; and our thriving partnership with Peace Corps volunteers in Burkina Faso who work so diligently to implement literacy programs, research studies and summer reading camps in several village libraries, in addition to founding three FAVL-affiliated libraries!

MK: And I should add I really liked Forty Acres and a Mule and Harriette Robinet's other books!

On the flight back from the IFLA conference in Puerto Rico, the American Way magazine fell into my lap... actually not such a bad magazine.  After failing at Sodoku, I found a one page article on the last page, by Carlton Stowers, remembering his youth in Ballinger, Texas, and the importance of having the Carnegie Library.  On Carnegie, Stowers writes" "But Lordy, do I owe him-- as do millions of others who first developed their habit of reading with visiting to public libraries names in his honor."  Nice nostalgic reflection.

See also this reflection on the life of one library user.