Finally I got some pix, courtesy of FAVL volunteers Amy Reggio and Madelyn Bagby... the idea here was a smaller children's library, that would have more emphasis on outdoor reading. So the library building is smaller, and it features girl's and boy's latrines (so they painted them "men" and "women".... ) (and that is Dounko with a big smile). Separate latrines is a BIG DEAL... the first ever in the village. Also FIRST EVER is the tiling of the outdoor reading area. As you can see, they did it in classic "who's in charge" style- rows for the kids, and a special seat for the storyteller in front. Why not a circle, one might ask? What, am I an anthropologist? it is one of those deep mysteries, if you ask me. When I was once asking Donkoui about doing a circular "cours" (the wall around the library), he smiled and said, "Our local masons don't do circles, just straight lines." As you can see from the tiling work, this is a "new art" for local masons... they've literally never had any tile work in a village in the area. So this is a first, and we'll see whether it takes off and whether the artistry improves over the years.
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