Photos of the Library We Helped to Build!

I can't believe it! After three years we have finally received photos of the library we helped to build at Aquaid Primary School in Malawi! Here's the email from The African Library Project that accompanied the photos:

Dear Colleen and Homeschoolers for Africa,

I have good news.  We visited your library during our recent African Partners Summit in Malawi!  And we took lots of photos!  I am really excited to provide you with some direct feedback on the results of your efforts.  

So, here's my report:

We spent two days visiting libraries in Malawi with our entire international delegation of 38 people.  I know all of the Americans were taken with just how poor Malawi is.  Most of the schools have no desks, the kids just sit on concrete floors.  150 students: 1 teacher is the average class size.  One of the teacher-librarians told me he has 400 kids in his class of six year olds.  

As you might imagine, these schools and their communities are incredibly excited to get a library.  It's a very big deal to them.  Everyone turns out when we visit - the kids, the teachers, the parents, the village headman or woman, and the chiefs.  They prepare speeches, poems, songs, skits about the library and a tour.  We ask questions, sing and dance with the kids and talk to the kids, teachers, librarian and everybody else in an effort to get a sense of how the books are impacting their lives.  

Aquaid is a school that serves local village children, but also serves more than 150 orphans who live at the school. It is supported by a charity in the UK and the buildings are in much better condition than most of the schools we visited.  We were met by a group of students singing a welcome song and holding signs of welcome and appreciation. The students walked us to the library.  You would be so proud of this library.  The school certainly is and should be.  Your books improved their small collection and they really have a first rate library now, the best we saw of all of our library visits in Malawi.  

Aquaid's librarian is passionate about the library.  Trained by our partners in simple library management skills, he is a warm and friendly presence for the students in the library.  The library is furnished with tables and chairs and is an organized and pleasant place to sit and read.  It is extremely well used, a popular spot for students to pass their extra time.

One lasting impression for me at Aquaid was how eager the children are for love and attention.  They climbed into our arms with little invitation.  Because of their connection with the UK charity, the orphans are used to outsiders and were not shy about expressing themselves or approaching us.  We had to tear ourselves away from Aquaid.

Chris Bradshaw
Founder/President
African Library Project

These are the students welcoming the representatives of The African Library Project to the library.

 This is the librarian.

 

Look! You can see the encyclopedias in this picture! I was so happy to score those. :) 

 See that copy of Inkheart? If you look at the slideshow to the right (the one where you can see the collection growing as books were donated), you can see the very same copy on my own bookshelf. But now it's in Malawi! Inspiring a whole new set of readers!

  Look at that! It's a certificate of appreciation hanging in a library in Malawi and it says "Appreciation: 1079 books for Aquaid Primary School were collected by Colleen Paeff in cooperation with Homeschoolers for Africa organization. Books were delivered by African Library Project partner DAPP." Then it has my name address and email address.

 

Here's a closer view. :)

These are some of the younger kids who use the library.

 And these are some of the older kids.

And that's it! I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment--in the best possible way. 

Thanks to everyone who donated books and money to help make this library a reality. As you can see, we really made a difference.

We did it!

Thanks to the amazing generosity of homeschoolers in California, St. Philip the Apostle School Library, the Independent Writers of Southern California Altadena Satellite members, my family, friends and even a few friends of friends, the children at Aquaid Primary school and the surrounding community will have a library of 1,063 books (including an encyclopedia set!) coming their way next week when I ship off the 21 boxes that now line my living room wall. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to everyone who has helped me put this library together. And, for a fabulous read about how a library changed one Malawian boy's life, be sure to check out The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba.

Welcome!

Update 5/15/10: 
We've surpassed our goal of 1,000 books and we've also reached our shipping goal! Thank you!! 

Homeschoolers in California are partnering with the African Library Project to start a community library in Malawi, a small country in Southeast Africa. The books we collect will make up the entire collection of this brand new library. Our goal is to send 1,000 books. The books need to be in my possession by May 15, 2010.

Please take some time to review the list of books we need, as well as the list of books we don't need. In addition to collecting 1,000 books we will be raising funds to ship the books. Our goal is to collect at least $600. (I've just changed this amount from $500 because we are getting lots of hardback books.) If you don't have books to donate, please consider making a cash donation toward the cost of shipping the books. You can donate $25 or more online by clicking here. Please give them my name when you donate so they know to put the money toward our shipment. You can also send money to me directly (in any amount) to cover the cost of shipping the books from my house to the warehouse in New Orleans (that's the first leg of the journey). That will cost at least $300, depending on the weight of the books (we have some heavy ones which is why I'm aiming to collect $300 now, instead of $200). If you'd like to donate toward the US shipping costs and don't mind sending me a check (I swear it will go towards shipping and not anything for myself!) just send me an e-mail and I'll give you my mailing address. I will mail you a receipt once the books have shipped.

As of September 2009, the African Library Project, in partnership with 250 schools and other organizations, has completed 375 libraries in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Cameroon, Lesotho, Nigeria, Botswana, Swaziland and Malawi. 375,000 books have made their way across the ocean and into the lives of countless African people.

Let's add to that legacy!

Thanks,
Colleen Paeff
Book Drive Organizer
Fed Tax ID# is 65-1261685