Our box of books arrived in Guatemala, along with our gifts from Africa for school director Jorge and his wife. The shipment included several tablets for the teachers, just in time for school to start again in January. If school continues to be virtual, the tablets will help teachers with online instruction. Our hope is to fulfill some work in Guatemala in the summer of 2021, if the pandemic situation improves.
Thank you to these two great publishers who have donated books for both Uganda and Guatemala!
AV2 Books donated dozens of new nonfiction books in both English and Spanish. The books include topics such as extinct animals, mammals, pets, primates, and castles around the world.
Orca Publishers donated dozens of slightly damaged books, both fiction and nonfiction, but most of the “damage” appeared to be missing book jackets. The books were carefully selected for our Ugandan libraries. Next steps include processing, cataloging, and boxing the books.
Thank you, AV2 Books and Orca Publishers!
Thank you to Better World Books for the generous donation of books! An entire pallet of hardcover books in English arrived this month, plus several more boxes of books in Spanish. These books will go to libraries in Uganda and Guatemala, where children and teens who normally don’t have access to books will now be able to read and enjoy them.
Check out our video to see what we’re up to in Guatemala!
We recently shipped a large box of books, tablets, and educational materials to one of our partners at a school in Quetzaltenango (known locally as Xela). Schools are currently closed, but teachers continue to teach online. The school year will end soon, but the school director, Jorge, has already expressed his gratitude for the tablets. He anticipates having to continue with online schooling for the unforeseeable future.
We continue to collect books in Spanish for the homework help center in San Antonio Aguas Calientes, which we are helping to organize into a community library. Check out our Amazon wishlist for Guatemala and donate a book today.
The pandemic has not stopped the work; we continue to plan for our programs. Donate at paypal.me/LibrariesForTheWorld to help us build a brighter future for children around the world.
The roofing is now complete on the library in Uganda! Rain interfered and slowed down some of the work, plus construction crews dealt with bouts of malaria and restrictions due to the pandemic. But workers persevered and completed construction last week. The next phase of construction involves installing doors and windows.
One of our goals is to help children stay in school when their families cannot afford to tuition, uniforms, and supplies. While students are not in school at the moment due to the pandemic, they will eventually return to school. Many families have been earning little to no income during the lockdown, so many children will not be able to return to school. If you are interested in sponsoring a child’s education, please email us at info@librariesfortheworld.org. School is not free for children in Uganda. Primary school generally costs less than secondary school, and tuition and other costs usually come to less than $600 per year. Those costs are paid per quarter, not all at once.
Donations in general are being directed toward construction, so if you’d like to sponsor a child’s education, please make a note with the donation. Online donations can be made thru PayPal, but you can also send a check to: Libraries for the World, PO Box 1331, Round Rock TX 78680.
We’re having a book fair! Help us acquire beautiful children’s nonfiction books published by Usborne Books & More. There are 3 ways to get involved:
Thank you for all of your support! None of this work would be possible without people like you stepping up and helping to create this library.
Thanks to a generous donation from Highpoint Fellowship of Cedar Park, roof work on the library in Uganda has restarted. This last phase of roof construction should be complete within the week. This work is helping some workers earn some badly needed income during this difficult economic crisis due to the pandemic.
We have begun receiving book donations! A book bin has been set up in the front lobby at Highpoint, but many others are choosing to purchase books through Amazon from our book wish list. We’re very excited to begin processing these books and boxing them up for shipment to Uganda.
Please donate, either books or funds, to help with the creation of this library. The next phase of construction will involve installing doors and windows. Thanks for your help!
Watch our video to learn about our work in building a library in Uganda!
Because Abwanget is so close to the border with Kenya, which has a larger number of COVID cases than Uganda, the lockdown and curfew continues. Schools are still closed, and many teachers haven’t been paid since February. The government is conducting school lessons over the radio, but that can be a problem in the rural villages, where homes seldom have electricity. Once the batteries die, so does the radio!
People are still struggling to meet basic needs during the lockdown. Many children have been forced to help their families by selling items on the streets while their parents tend the family gardens and fields. The area has had much rain, at times too much, destroying many roads, houses, and gardens. Denis has been keeping young men busy by making bricks with the mud left from the rainstorms.
The pandemic has made life more difficult for the people of Uganda. Please continue to donate so that we can help put people back to work, allowing them to earn an income and feed their families.
Life has been different for the past six weeks. Work at the library in Uganda has stopped as people shelter in place. Uganda has some of the strictest restrictions on movement in the world. No public or private transportation is allowed, so even trips to the grocery store are made on foot. With markets and most businesses closed for weeks now, it has been next to impossible for people to earn income. People are running out of food and money. The number of COVID cases in Uganda is relatively small, but easing restrictions could lead to more COVID cases in a country whose healthcare system could easily become overwhelmed.
Denis’ community is doing its part to slow down the spread of the disease. Most homes do not have running water, so the community has set up a handwashing station with soap for villagers to use. They are also staying home as much as possible and like everywhere else around the world, trying to keep their children entertained. The government has been delivering school lessons via television and radio, but this is a challenge in Denis’ village since most homes have no electricity or TV. Radios use dry cells, so once the batteries run out, the radios die. Our future plans for the community center and library include setting up solar panels so that the villagers can have access to information through computers.
Uganda has had a lot of rain this spring, so without the roofing panels installed, the foundation of the building got wet. Now that the rains have subsided, the building is drying out. Our goal is to have the roofing panels installed as soon as the lockdown ends so that the rains will not permanently damage the building. Please donate if you can. Times are difficult for many people right now, but others of us are fortunate to still have our jobs and to be able to work remotely. Many of us have been able to continue feeding our families and have stayed safe and healthy. Donating funds now will allow Denis to finish purchasing the iron sheets for the roof and will help put villagers to work once the lockdown ends, allowing them to earn income to feed their families once again. – DC
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