What is happening in Sherigu!

This just received today from Bernard, Sherigu librarian...
Hello Michael, Everything is fine in with me and very busy working in the library. In fact it has been a tough time for me this time because I am busy processing my report and the number of people who always come to the library is grat such that I don't always get time to move an inch. These days the records is always higher than ever this is due to the fact some of the Senior Secondary School students are writing their private exams and the schools in the country are all closed down due to teachers are on strike. So much attention is put to ensure security. The rains are also subsiding and the community is planning how to organise themselves to put up the summar hat before your visit to the library next year. Greetings all FAVL members and a nice time as you are planning for next year tour to our country.
Thank you.
Bernard

Alain Sissao reads two stories from Burkina in French

These are traditional stories he collected and published.

Friends of Libraries helping Friends of Libraries...

We were delighted to receive today a donation from the Friends of Swansboro Library, in Swansboro, North Carolina. The funds will go to purchase some African novels for our teen readers in the Burkina Faso libraries. Thanks! And since we're talking about books, may I recommend So Long a Letter, by Mariama Ba, the poignant story of polygamy in Senegal, from the pen of a delightful writer.

Story hour at Bereba village Library

Two Santa Clara University students (Mia Stephenson and Jenvieve Francisco) recently returned from six weeks volunteer work in the libraries in Ghana. They spent time living with the family of CESRUD (our local collaborators) board member George Akundiya. They hung out with Lucas, Bernard and Darius, the troika of librarians in the two libraries of Sumbrungu and Sherigu. But most of all, they tried to inspire the kids in the libraries to think of reading and learning as fun and wonderful things to be doing, and the way to succeed and improve one's life, even in the hard circumstances of Upper East Region, Ghana. So... here are the children learning "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".... four very important English vocabulary words, immediately followed by "Eyes and Ears and Mouth and Nose."

Harriette Robinet and stories for children

One of our boosters over the years is Harriette Robinet, and I thought I would take a few lines to remark that her short novels- stories for young readers and high school students- mostly following experiences of African-American children in various historical settings- are great books to use in the classroom and also as 'books of the month' for libraries in Africa. We've sent a bunch of copies over to the libraries in Ghana, and I've asked to librarians to write back about the experiences of readers with the books. Should be interesting!

Two short clips from FAVL supported libraries

Below are two short clips of interviews from our librarian partners, and some students, in the libraries we support in West Africa. the first clip, in English, is from Sumbrungu, northern Ghana. Leslie Gray, FAVL vice-president, asked library patrons and library coordinator Rose Azupoka, and librarian Lucas Aligire, to speak on the library.



The second video is in French, and features Bereba librarian Sanou Dounko speaking about the library in Burkina Faso.