Room to Read Blog

Spotlight on Sustainability: Checking up on a Completed Library Project in Laos

The library at Lakhonepheng Complete Primary School in Salavan, Laos is always neat and well-organized, thanks to the school’s dedicated staff. “The selection of our school for a library is so meaningful for our community,” says principal Bouaphan Dokdaoheuang, who notes that the village is more than two hours’ drive form the provincial center.

The school has been maintaining the library entirely on its own since Room to Read’s three-year support period ended in 2011, so when our team returned for an annual monitoring visit to find it running as smoothly as ever, we were extremely pleased.

The school’s teacher-librarian is an extremely energetic 23-year-old named Daosavanh, who says her favorite part of her job is creating interactive activities and games related to the storybooks on the shelves. “The library isn’t just about reading good books,” she says, “but it is also like a student center—a comfortable place where they can explore their infinite imaginations.”

“I never tell the children to be quiet when coming into library,” shares Daosavanh. “Instead, I read for them and encourage them to do many activities.” Her technique is working, she says, adding that, “their excitement tells me that they will be back another day.”

It would seem Daosavanh is on to something with her library management style, as several of the 4^th and 5^th graders have started volunteering as book classification assistants.

When visiting Lakhonepheng Complete Primary School recently, our team met one eager young reader named Kingsada, who insisted upon sharing his story. Now in 3^rd grade, Kingsada comes into the library each day to check out a new book. Clutching his latest storybook selection to his chest, he recalled his first experience in the library. “My teacher told a story from a book with beautiful pictures called A Bunny and a Carrot,” he shared, beaming. “I liked the story so much and looked through it many times on my own—page by page—to see the nice drawings, [and] it became one of my favorite books!”  

Kingsada’s story is one of many, says Daosavanh, that shows how much reading habits at at Lakhonepheng Complete Primary School have changed over the past few years. “Many teachers say to me that it must be hard to wear two hats at the same time—to teach as well as to take responsibility on the library operation,” she says. “To tell the truth, I don’t feel that at all, because I can see the dramatic improvement of my students reading skills since we have the library.”

Learn more about how other Room to Read libraries are doing based on the findings of our School Library Post-Completion Study.

Guest Blog from South Africa: Mouma's Story

Shauna Carey is Room to Read’s Marketing and Communications Associate. In this guest post she shares her experience on a recent visit to Room to Read schools in South Africa.

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Nkadimeng Primary school is less than two hours from Pretoria, but its rural setting makes the high-rise buildings and bustling streets of the capital feel a world away. We pull up to the gates just as classes are starting. The schoolyard is a hub of frenzied activity with hundreds of blue and grey uniforms scurrying in all directions.

Room to Read has been partners with Nkadimeng since establishing its first library in 2010, and also introduced our Reading and Writing Instruction program there earlier this year.

Our visit included readings, storytelling and songs from students of all ages in the library. It’s a beautiful space, adorned with fully-stocked bookshelves and brightly-colored murals about the importance of education, and the perfect backdrop for the excited group of students who proudly displayed their reading skills for their visitors.

It’s clear that the library has already had an effect on the students’ reading habits, and seeing their unbridled enthusiasm, it was hard to believe that the library had experienced a somewhat slow start.

When Room to Read’s three-year support period began, teachers and administrators participated in the regular training sessions help by our team as planned, but found that with more than 700 students and no full-time librarian, they did not have time to put that training to use. For the first few months, library traffic was low and the resources were not being fully-utilized.

At this point, it was clear that the staff needed help, so they went to the local community in search of volunteers. They found Mouma Mokubjane.

Mouma grew up just 2km away from Nkadimeng, and has lived in the community her whole life. She has two young children now, who attend another school in the district, but when she heard that Nkadimeng was looking for a volunteer librarian, she jumped at the opportunity.

“Getting the library period scheduled for all classes was my big challenge,” says Mouma, whose first order of business was to help teachers and students alike get acquainted with the new resources. In the beginning, she would collect a set of books and bring them to each classroom—helping the teacher see how they could be used to enhance the existing curriculum. “Once they saw how helpful the books were,” she says, “teachers started bringing their classes to the library more and more.”

Now that all classes have regular library periods, Mouma is focused on planning activities that are fun and nurture students’ budding literacy skills. One of her favorites is helping them interpret their favorite local-language books into plays, which they perform for their peers.

For this activity, Mouma focuses on books that cover important social issues in the community, like HIV and AIDS. Approximately 50 percent of Nkadimeng’s students are orphans (largely due to the epidemic’s prevalence in the region), so she chooses stories that discuss prevention and destigmatization. “It teaches the children that they must not be scared of people who have [HIV] because they are just like everyone else, and lets them know about how to take precautions,” she says.

It’s clear that Mouma loves volunteering at Nkadimeng, but I couldn’t help but wonder why she chooses to spend so many hours at one school when her own children attend another. “Literacy is the way we can improve this whole community,” she said without hesitation. “I want to see all the children here succeed.”

Learn more about our work in South Africa.

A Record of Success for One Budding Librarian in Sri Lanka

Nine-year-old Dilshi loves the library at Hedunuwewa Primary School. Ever since Room to Read launched our School Library program there three years ago, she has been a regular, having read more than 240 of its 2,600 books.

At home, the books Dilshi read allowed her to explore new ideas and places, which made her think: with school so far away, there were others in her community that could not experience such joy.

This realization, coupled with her zealous love of reading, inspired Dilshi to create her own small library at home, and she immediately got started building her inventory.

Armed with a detailed checkout log and classification system, Dilshi runs her home library with the utmost efficiency. “I checked out 11 books to my friends and family during the school vacation last December,” she says, confirming the number with a glance at her register.

“Dilshi is my good friend," says Shachini, another fifth-grader from the school. "I went to see her home library and thought it was very beautiful.”

As word of Dilshi’s home library spread, she gained more and more patrons from the surrounding area—a fact, says her librarian, that is particularly important given the district’s remote, rural setting.

“Before Room to Read and Dilshi’s library,” says the librarian, “we had to take the primary school students to another school if we wanted them to see a library full of books.”

Our team in Sri Lanka, upon seeing the effects of Dilshi’s project, awarded her with a special literacy certificate recognizing the quality of her home library.

“I’m most impressed with the records she keeps,” says the principal of her school. It’s clear that the home library project is helping Dilshi develop more than just her literacy skills.

Learn more about our School Libraries and our work in Sri Lanka.

Finding Personal Strength and a Love of Reading on the Shelves of a School Library in South Africa

Aphiwe Dyobhiso is a bright, friendly student at Mpongo Farm School in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. At 12 years old, the fourth grader—like many of her peers in South Africa—lags behind grade level in reading and writing, but her teachers are quick to point out that her latent literacy skills don’t stop her from participating in school. She enjoys storytelling exercises and works hard to keep up with her classmates.

One day during a visit to the Mpongo School Library established by Room to Read, the librarian read aloud to the students from a book called Kutheni Gugu about a mother’s struggle with HIV and AIDS.

It was clear right away how much Aphiwe loved the story, and as weeks went by the librarian noticed that she continued to check it out every library period. Despite her difficulty reading, Aphiwe would patiently sit down with the book, going from beginning to end meticulously and learning the words. She also began to recommend the book to her fellow students.

Aphiwe’s teachers and the school’s principal, Ms. Nontando Tata, were surprised at this turn of events, and it was not until learning more about the girl’s background that they understood her fascination with Kutheni Gugu.

As it turned out, Aphiwe’s mother had passed away from AIDS the previous year, leaving her to live in a one-room house with her great-grandmother and three other relatives. The story of Kutheni Gugu has helped her process her family’s tragedy and see that she is not alone in the experience.

Ms. Tata hopes that this newfound interest in reading combined with some extra help this school year will allow Aphiwe to catch up with her peers. Through a new program at the library, “Reading Buddies”, Aphiwe will be paired with an intermediate-level reader in her class that can help her to sound out the words and sentences until she becomes more comfortable reading on her own.

In addition to providing children of families affected by AIDS in South Africa with a relatable story to enjoy, books like Kutheni Gugu are also instrumental in turning the tide against the disease by helping children develop a love of reading and learning. Studies show that a child who finishes primary school is 50% less likely to contract HIV, extending the benefits of a fully-stocked library and well-trained teacher-librarians far beyond the schoolyard gates.

To learn more about our School Libraries and our work in South Africa.

Dino's Story: Going the Extra Mile to Help Young Readers Succeed in Cambodia

“I work as teacher because I love children,” says Kea Dino, a bright 22-year-old from Kampong Thom, Cambodia.

Her enthusiasm for teaching is palpable immediately as is her dedication. In addition to working as a teacher and librarian at a local school, Dino is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Accounting at nearby Kampong Thom University.

Given all of her existing commitments, Dino knows that her decision to join Room to Read earlier this year as a field facilitator for the School Library program might come as a surprise to some. “I want to share my experiences and knowledge with other librarians,” she says of her newest endeavor.

Born one of three children to an illiterate mother and a father who works as a soldier, Dino knows first-hand the power of a good education. Despite her full schedule, she remains optimistic about her work, calling each of her jobs in its own way an “agent of country development”.

In her new role as field facilitator, Dino’s primary responsibility is to follow up with completed libraries that are under Room to Read’s three year period of support—providing both technical assistance and training to ensure the project’s long-term success. As an added bonus, the site visits provide an opportunity to see up-close the impact each library is having on students’ reading habits. “I am happy when I hear them telling stories and singing songs, and especially to see them able to read,” she says.

Before starting as a facilitator Dino had her share of doubts. “I was really enthusiastic to start the job, but worried about failing—thinking I might be unable to do the work well,” she recalls. “I was also concerned about my personal security traveling long distances to visit many schools in the area.”

As time went on, though, encouragement from her parents and extensive training from Room to Read gave Dino the confidence she needed, and “my fondness for children,” she says, “gave me courage.” She is now an extremely successful facilitator and relishes the opportunity to use her personal experience as a librarian to help the communities she works with.

“This is my dream—to help young children develop a habit of reading,” says Dino confidently, and it seems she’s already on her way to making that dream come true.

Learn more about our School Library program and our work in Cambodia.

We’re Already a Winner on South Africa’s Pitch

Today, the eyes of the world are upon South Africa as football (soccer) fans descend on the country for the kickoff of the 2010 FIFA World Cup competition. It’s the first time this worldwide sporting event has been hosted by an African nation, so it’s a big deal! We’d also be remiss if we didn’t offer our congratulations to the people of South Africa, especially our Room to Read South Africa team whom we hope can enjoy some of the festivities!
 
But, there are other – smaller varieties – of competitions that happen around South Africa and in honor of the World Cup, we wanted to share our own “competition” story. This one, however, is not about who takes home a coveted trophy but about who wins the battle for the best school library.

Just a few weeks ago, over 300 people in the Mpumalange province – an agricultural region located far and away from the urban landscapes of Johannesburg and Cape Town – gathered at an awards ceremony hosted by the provincial Department of Education to recognize the achievements of several local school libraries.

The government surveyed more than 200 schools in the province to present awards in categories such as “Best Improved Library,” “Best Library Monitor,” and “Best Librarian.” It’s an annual presentation by the Department of Education to support and promote the utilization of local libraries by children, families and the community at large.

Room to Read was thrilled to learn that many of the schools honored at the event have active Reading Rooms that were established by Room to Read. Even more exciting was news that two schools – Kennen Primary School (supported by Sterling Brands) and Ehlanzeni Siyakhula – scooped up the award for “School Library of the Year” in their respective regions.

Teachers and students around South Africa who now have a library thanks to Room to Read have been sending us their words of thanks. Miss Prudence Ntimba, a librarian and teacher, commented, “Our school is located in a remote area…there is a high illiteracy level in our community. Room to Read provided us with books and library furniture and we are very grateful. My students can now read with confidence in front of other students and their self-esteem has improved. Thank you for making me realize my dream to bring something good for my community.”

Talk about more feathers to add to South Africa’s cap!

For more information about Room to Read in South Africa, click here.

Zambia: The "Teacher Librarian"

Chingale Mudenda has been teaching for the past two years at the Lukwipa Basic School in Zambia. What she loves best, she says, is that she gets to teach children how to read and write. “I spend a lot of my time with the children in the library to help them improve their reading skills,” she says. One could scarcely miss the enthusiasm and passion on her face as she goes on to explain how she skillfully helped set up the library at her school following the librarian training she received from Room to Read. So it’s no surprise that as a result of her efforts, she became known as the "Teacher Librarian."

Asked what the new library has meant to the school, Ms. Mudenda says, “It is a valuable gift to our children. In the past, the school had no books at all. But now, thanks to Room to Read, we have nice story books and our children are excited to spend their time in the library reading.”

As she walks through the library to check on what’s going on, she is impressed to find children busy reading. When asked what her role is, Ms. Mudenda proclaims that her duty is to help and encourage pupils to spend time in the library. She talks enthusiastically about how the book-borrowing system is working and how she encourages children to borrow books and read at home with their families.

Ms. Mudenda is so passionate about enhancing children’s reading skills that she even enlisted helpers to ensure that the library remained open during the day. She took it upon herself to train two pupils as library monitors and another as a teacher library assistant.

“When I’m busy teaching, the library assistant takes over and the monitors help out during the students’ free time,” she says proudly.

Thanks to Ms. Mudenda leadership and guidance, students at Lukwipa Basic now have a library (with helpers!) they can depend on to offer lots of story books that will help them to develop good reading habits and a love of learning.

To learn more about our programs in Zambia, click here.