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.

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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!

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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.

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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!”

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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.

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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.

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Uganda – Day 3

The library was starting to come together by the third day! More bookshelves, tables, and a desk were ordered, and the crew continued organizing picture books, children’s fiction, teen fiction, and adult books. Children dropped by and started browsing for books. Local villagers also began dropping by to check out the progress happening in the library.

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Uganda – Day 2 of work

Work continued on the second day with the finishing of the children’s nonfiction and starting on the picture books. More bookshelves needed to be ordered to accommodate all the books. We also purchased bins to house the nonfiction books by topic. The volunteers were amazing and caught on to the work quickly.

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At long last – Uganda

Our volunteers arrived in Uganda! After several years of planning online, we finally worked together in person. On Day 1 of work, we unpacked boxes of books and sorted through them so that we could finish processing them. Local volunteers helped us sort through the nonfiction books and label them accordingly.

We shipped over 40 boxes of books several months before we arrived. The books traveled by boat to Kenya and then by truck to Uganda. The children’s nonfiction books needed to be arranged by topic, making it easier for children to browse for materials. After sorting the books by topic, volunteers labeled the front of the books, making it easier for the librarian to put the books away.

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December down time

The children of Uganda have been making good use of their down time this December. This group of children has been practicing reading with some books that our organization left in the village a couple of years ago.

And these boys have kept busy by making charcoal so that they can earn Christmas money.

Over 120 children in the village celebrated Christmas by attending the annual Christmas party sponsored in part by our organization and our partner, Centre for Children and Library Foundation. There was a drama, singing, music, and food.

Thank you for all of your support over this past year. We could not do our work without your help. Have a restful holiday season!