Friends of African Village Libraries2009 Annual Report

About FAVL

• Commitment: FAVL is committed to the long-term management of and support for small community libraries in Sub-Saharan Africa

• Mission: FAVL is dedicated to increasing access to reading material and other information in rural villages in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our Approach• FAVL works with village community to establish libraries

– Village provides building, plot of land and management committee

– FAVL refurbishes building, trains and pays librarians and supervises library

– FAVL purchases and produces books relevant to the community– FAVL works with both local and national institutions– FAVL brings volunteers for stays in villages– Partner with a local non-profit

• Overall, the model is management intensive and long-term commitment

FAVL Libraries

FAVL has established 13 libraries, 8 in Burkina Faso, 3 in Ghana, 1 in Tanzania and 1 in Ghana, and has over 60 member libraries as a part of the Uganda Community Library Association

FAVL libraries

• FAVL-managed libraries– Work with village community to establish

libraries: FAVL refurbishes, provides books, trains, pays and supervises librarians, organizes volunteers, etc.

• FAVL-supported libraries– Help with “friends of” infrastructure

FAVL Libraries

• FAVL also established and supports the Uganda Community Library Association (UgCLA) with over 60 member libraries.

Our Partners

• New Partnerships in 2009– FAVL and Poverty Eradication Network (PEN) Trust– UgCLA and Under the Reading Tree– FastPencil

• Existing Partners– CESRUD– Chalula Primary School– Kathy Knowles of Osu Children’s Library Fund

Looking Forward

2009 Financial Summary

West Africa Library Statistics Burkina Faso Visits

Bereba 17,022

Dohoun 7,846

Karaba 6,141

Koumbia 6,489

Sara 5,579

Boni 9,651

Dimikuy 2,582

Sub-Total 55,310

Ghana Visits

Gowrie-Kunkua 11,974

Sherigu 18,054

Sumbrungu 34,563

Sub-Total 64,591

East Africa Library StatisticsTanzania Visits

Chalula 9,684

Sub-Total 9.684

Uganda Visits

Kitengesa 6,495

Sub-Total 6,495

2009 Highlights

• Summer Reading Camps • Two new libraries in Burkina Faso• New Field Foundation Grant• UgCLA membership increase of 50%• Reading West Africa Program• Micro-Publishing• Library Conferences

Summer Reading Camps

• Five village libraries in Burkina Faso hosted summer reading camps thanks to a grant from the Lisle Foundation

• One camp was hosted at the Sumbrungu Community Library in Ghana

• The camps were a huge success

New FAVL Libraries in Burkina Faso

• Two new FAVL supported libraries were established in the villages of Boni and Dimikuy

• The Boni Library opened in March 2009 with 925 books

• The Dimikuy library opened in October 2009 with a stock of 600 books

New Field Foundation Grant

• FAVL received a grant of $4,352 from the New Field Foundation fund to make both Boni and Dimikuy Community libraries more attractive to girl readers

• This was completed by: – Providing more female oriented books– Publish 25 of four girl oriented microbooks– Conducting reading programs with female staff– Build two separate latrines: Male and Female– Build an outside reading circle

New Field Foundation Grant

A girl and boy latrine at the Dimikuy Community Library

Uganda Community Library Association

• UgCLA had a total of 42 member libraries by the end of 2009, increasing 50% since 2008

UgCLA hosted two conferences• February 2009– UgCLA’s Annual General Meeting– “Libraries as Centers for Education and Development”

Workshop• Two day workshop• Attended by 35 • Participants included UgCLA library members and librarian of

FAVL managed Chalula Community Library• July 2009– “Library Management” Workshop

• Two day workshop• Attended by 30

UgCLA Conference

(Right to Left) Alain Sissao, Kate Parry, and unidentified workshop attendee

Kwekitui Librarian’s Conference

• Tanzania Library supporters hosted the Kwekitui Librarian’s Conference in Lushoto on August 6th

• Conference was planned by FAVL supporter Sarah Switzer, Rodgers and Kate Parry

• Attendees included the literacy group Haki Elimu, visitors from Moshi, a Rwandan NGO called Ready for Reading, eleven members of UgCLA and the District Secondary School Education Officer.

Kwekitui Library Attendees

Lushoto, Tanzania

Pan African “Reading for All” Conference

• Conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania• UgCLA contributed two presentations – Aug. 11 – Kate Parry and Daniel Ahimbisbwe

spoke about “What happens when you read a lot.”

– Aug. 13 – Kate Parry and Grace Musoke spoke about “An expanding movement” as a part of a colloquium on “An infrastructure for development: Community libraries in Uganda.”

Reading West Africa study abroad program

• FAVL, in partnership with Santa Clara University, launched its first year of the Reading West Africa program

• Nine university students embarked on an intensive four-month immersion experience in Burkina Faso.

• The program offers five classes for students focusing on Francophone literature, development in West Africa, French Language and Photography

• The program consists of two parts:– First six weeks are spent in the capital, Ouagadougou– Second six weeks are spent interning at FAVL community

libraries

Reading West Africa

Reading West Africa students group photos in Hounde Town, Burkina Faso

Reading West Africa – Making books

• During the six weeks spent at FAVL libraries, students aligned their photography class with their village experiences to create culturally relevant children’s books

• Books are published using an online publishing platform provided by FastPencil

• Books are approximately $6.00 to publish• In 2009, RWA students have published about

30 books

Making Books – Microbooks• The children books produced by RWA students

are a part of FAVL’s microbook publishing initiative

• FAVL hopes to produce books featuring stories and photos from the villages where FAVL libraries reside

• These books will help inspire a reading culture by providing material that is of interest to the children reading them

• Most books will be printed in both the language of instruction and local languages

Micro-Books