How does your $25 donation help?

For example, $25 is how much it costs to build a small book display case. A local carpenter builds these for us. Wood is quite expensive in Burkina Faso. Often the wood used is coming from disassembled packing crates. So we are recycling, helping the local economy, providing jobs, and displaying wonderful books, all for $25. What a bargain!

Library in Tanzania coming soon...

FAVL is very pleased to be working with a group of former Habitat for Humanity volunteers, led by Rosemary Harris, who spent time in the village of Mvumi in Tanzania and who have decided to continue their work there by fundraising and overseeing the establishment of a village library to be called the Chalula Library. We'll keep you posted as we have more news about this exciting development.

Why is programming for the library hard?

What if you had to do a story hour in your library and this is how many children showed up? Suggestions, please....

When can we start drawing classes?

A friend SARE Elisee was over the other day. He draws BD- bandes dessinees (comic books). It is a tough living in Ouagadougou. Maybe he'll have some time to help Elliot with drawing dinosaurs, monsters and dragons, and the planetary system being attacked by meteorites. Even better, Elisee would be giving regular drawing lessons down in the libraries. We are going to try to get some funding for that. Library programming is really the hardest thing- there are so many logistical obstacles to overcome.

Flashlights are nice too...

Mark Bent of BoGo Light, a very nice NGO in the U.S. that sells solar powered LED flashlights and then donates one flashlight for every flashlight they sell, sent FAVL 20 flashlights to distribute to librarians, and here is Sanou Dounko with his. I have to say, they really work well! Amazing how long the charge lasts- seemingly for weeks, and the light is perfect for reading. Thanks!

Puzzles are a big hit....

Kathy Knowles, of Osu Children's Library Fund, introduced our Burkina librarians to wooden puzzles when they visited Accra in November 2005. I just spent a few days visiting some of the libraries, and the kids still seem to not get enough of the puzzles! If you have some nice used wooden puzzles- of forest scenes or animals especially- please do go ahead and send them to Bibliotheques Villageoises de Tuy, B.P. 51, Hounde, Province du Tuy, Burkina Faso. Send us an email too when you mail the puzzles so we can look out for them. (Photo: David Pace)

The elephant on his shoulders...

What is the ideal book for a village library in West Africa? Much as I love Beverly Cleary (well, my son does), the myth of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mande empire in Mali, is the right thing for kids to be reading. And looking at the beautiful drawings by Dialiba Konate. The picture book I found in a dusty bookshop in Ouagadougou, and bought all five copies. The librarians loved it, and the readers will too!

Look for some excellent photos soon...

Photographer and Santa Clara University professor David Pace spend a week in Bereba village in Burkina Faso, taking pictures of cotton harvest, ordinary life and also, of course, kids reading books in the library. In between morning and evening light, there was time for coffee. Thanks to FAVL donor Susan M. who insisted that we bring the expresso maker. Here is David and expresso, picture by yours truly...