News

librariesfortheworld

Return to Uganda

Our volunteers returned to build on the work started in Uganda in 2022 – adding more books to the collection and conducting library programs for students in Abwanget Village. It was a joy to reconnect with familiar faces and experience the peace of the beautiful countryside. Volunteers read picture books, sang songs, and guided students in extension activities based on the books we had read. Our group also trained staff on the importance of reading to young children, and older students participated in reading activities over the weekend, while they were out of school.

Students helped us process some of the books that we had taken with us. Most of the books that we added to the collection had already been processed by volunteers in the U.S. and shipped before we arrived. Thanks to generous donors, we were able to purchase a new desktop computer for the library! The computer will be used to not only provide internet access but to teach villagers and students how to use a computer. While there, we also visited with several of the primary school students whose education we sponsor.

Volunteers ended the trip to Uganda by going on safari at Murchison Falls National Park, in the northwest part of the country. Our organization plans on visiting Abwanget Village every couple of years, to follow up on training and to deliver library programs to children.

librariesfortheworld

Follow up work in San Antonio Aguascalientes

Our volunteers opened this library in 2022. We were back in San Antonio Aguascalientes with our partner Creating Opportunities for Guatemalans to add more books to the collection and to conduct library programs for the students. Volunteers read picture books and guided the students through activities connected to the stories they had read. Older students learned how to make origami cranes after learning about Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr. Younger students painted with watercolors after reading This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen. And middle grade students created earthquake-proof structures with connecting straws after reading Mi Ciudad Sings by Cynthia Harmony.

Students COULDN’T WAIT to get their hands on the new books! They especially love the Dog Man books by Dav Pilkey. The librarian Jessica has created a fun environment around reading and learning, and the students obviously love books. One of the older students took home a copy of the Sadako book after the origami activity and read it in one night!

librariesfortheworld

New secondary school library in Tanzania

Luganga Secondary School in Mafinga, Tanzania asked for a school library, and we delivered! After traveling for a couple of days, our group of volunteers arrived in Dar es Salaam and then visited bookstores to purchase as many local books as possible. The group then traveled by bus to the central, interior part of the country to set up books and train library staff.

Our shipment of books had been held up in Singapore for a couple of months and did not arrive in time for our trip, but students, staff, and a librarian from Iringa finished the work of setting up the books. Our volunteers had taken a couple hundred books with them for the library, so we were able to train staff on processing new books, library organization, and principles of librarianship.

One of the volunteers, Gina, belongs to a chess organization and brought many donated chess sets. Our group taught teachers and students how to play chess, in the hopes that the library will be seen as a hub of the school, a place where students can gather to pursue many interests, including becoming experts at chess. While there, we met and were driven around by Albert, one of the teachers at the school, who also runs a preschool and primary school. Our organization will return to Tanzania to continue working with the secondary school and to open a school library for Albert’s school in 2026.

librariesfortheworld

Guatemala – new books for Asturias

A second goal of our work at Asturias is to add new books to the school library collection. Our team works year-round to secure donations of books for our library programs around the world. Many publishers donated new children’s books in Spanish over the past year. Supporters purchased books from our Amazon wish list, and the Friends of the Library group in Tucson, Arizona donated children’s books as well. These books were shipped to Quetzaltenango and were ready for our group when we arrived.

Our cataloging team – Hector, Mandi, Cara, and Debbie – sorted through the many donated books, processed them by adding the appropriate labels, and cataloged them into the spreadsheet used by the school. Two hundred eighty-one books were added to the school’s collection! The school has many books in their collection already, but like any library, some books get lost or damaged over time. Students and teachers love to see new books arrive! After our team leaves, the librarian, Señora Dorita, will lay out all of the books on long tables in the library and will schedule classes to visit the library so that they can preview the new books.

In addition to adding new books, Hector went above and beyond by translating nearly 20 books into Spanish! These books were perfect for story time but were written in English, which the librarian does not speak. Hector, who has worked professionally as a translator, selflessly spent free time during the week translating the books into Spanish so that they can be read to younger students.

Our organization will visit the school every two years to continue to add new books to the library’s collection.

librariesfortheworld

Library Days at Asturias!

Our group of volunteers arrived in Guatemala for a service trip in Quetzaltenango (Xela) at the Colegio Miguel Angel Asturias. One of the goals of the trip is to conduct library programs for the students, not just to make the library fun but also to model for the teachers how to create fun extension activities related to books.

Students were treated to fun library programs conducted by our programming team – Irania, Norma, Karen, and Jessica. Irania brought her cuatro (Venezuelan instrument) for sing-alongs and riddles, which warmed up the students and made them feel welcome. The focus was on emotional well-being, with children writing encouraging messages for themselves and engaging in various activities.

One of the books read to the students was “Yo soy Paz” (I am Peace) by Susan Verde, a book that focuses on mindfulness and strategies to keep oneself calm. Students talked about things that make them feel peace and created origami related to images from the book.

For these special Library Days, every class in the school visits the library for a 50-minute program. During regular weeks, classes visit the library at least once per week, and some students hang out in the library during breaks, such as recess. The library is the only carpeted room in the school, so staff and students take their shoes off and sometimes wear slippers so that they can keep the carpet clean. The school is still requiring masks since Covid is still circulating.

librariesfortheworld

Guatemala excursions

When we take groups on service trips, we like to include excursions that will teach volunteers about the culture of the country where we’re working. For this trip, we worked from morning ’til evening, so there was little time for excursions, but we did squeeze in some time for a few activities.

Our partner, Creating Opportunities for Guatemalans, has started a women’s sewing workshop, where a volunteer teaches women basic sewing skills so that they can earn extra income for their families. The women sew upcycled items using leftover traditional woven textiles and fabrics. They have formed a co-op called Manos de Maya and sell the items from their workshop, online through Facebook, and at various locations in Antigua.

We also visited a textile co-op where we were shown how traditional weaving is done in the village of San Antonio Aguascalientes, where the finished weave is reversible. Our group learned about indigenous wedding traditions of the area and was given the opportunity to dress in traditional wedding attire.

We rode a chicken bus to the village every day; ran across several processions, one of which was for Santa Cecilia, the patron saint of music and musicians; visited the town of Santa Maria; walked all over Antigua; and ate delicious food!

librariesfortheworld

Guatemala – San Antonio Aguascalientes

Our team arrived in San Antonio Aguascalientes to work on the soon-to-be community library. Over the years, many volunteers from the U.S. and Canada had donated books to the center, most of which were written in English. In a rush to clear some space for a new computer lab, the books had been tossed into the library space and needed to be sorted and evaluated for condition.

Our crew weeded out older, outdated books; processed, cataloged, and added new children’s books in Spanish; and sorted and organized the English books. Our team modified a spreadsheet used by another school in Guatemala for cataloging the books and creating a checkout program.

Because there were so many books, our team focused on the Spanish books. Jessica, the new librarian, will continue processing and cataloging the English books, which are used by the tutors at the center for teaching English.

Our organization secured a laptop for the library, thanks to a generous donation from a supporter. We will continue to support Jessica by remaining in communication via online meetups and providing mini-training sessions online. Our organization will visit the library with a group of volunteers every two years to add more books to the collection and to conduct library programs for the students. Once the English books have been cataloged and processed and the furniture is in place, the center will open the library for the community!

librariesfortheworld

Uganda – Abwanget Grand Opening

Grand opening day finally arrived! Children from the village attended, as well as students from a nearby school, the village chairperson, and government officials. We learned that nothing happens in a village without the village chairperson’s blessing, and he was there to give his blessing. Dignitaries spoke to express their appreciation for our work and to encourage people to use the library. Students performed a song and dance, and after a ribbon-cutting, students and adults took turns to go through the library. The phrase we heard most often was, “We have never seen anything like this in all of eastern Uganda!”

librariesfortheworld

Uganda – Day 5

Our final day before the grand opening was full of activity. We swept the floor before laying down vinyl flooring. We also cranked up the music so that the children could have a dance party! Many of the children were going to be in school the next day, so we gave them the opportunity to celebrate the library opening before the rest of the community. We also discovered a local food vendor who made delicious chapati and rolexes. Chapati is an Indian flatbread, and when rolled up with an egg omelette, it becomes a rolex!

We visited two of the students whose education we sponsor. And we took a walk along a river that borders Kenya, just down the road from the village. There was a point along the river where people had thrown a wooden pole across the river, allowing people to balance like on a tightrope to cross the river. At another point, people crossed with a raft, pulling themselves along with a rope that had been strung from one side to the other. Both crossings were illegal, but people use them regularly to bring items such as flour more cheaply into the country.

librariesfortheworld

Uganda – Day 4

We finally finished organizing all the books after buying even more bookcases! The local carpenter must have been sad to see us finish our work. 🙂 One of the local volunteers helped process the last of the books that had gone astray. And we planned and purchased items in Tororo for the grand opening on Monday.

Our organization sponsors children’s education, and the parent of a student stopped by to express her gratitude for our efforts. While education in Uganda is supposed to be free, families are responsible for purchasing textbooks and uniforms as well as paying fees that help with operating expenses. Many families are forced to choose which of their children they can afford to send to school.