Setting up the new Mahandakini Community Library
It pains me to say it, but I haven’t been in a library for a
while. If I want to read a book, I buy
it. Even worse, I download it. So, when I was told that I was going off to
Tsavo in rural, rural Africa to help the local community of ex poachers to set
their library up, I was quite bemused.
I didn't think I knew anything about how a library should run or the first
thing about library protocols. But, as
it transpired I did because I had the luxury of being taken every week as a
child to read stories, then all the way through school. We didn’t even think twice about it. Going to the library was part of our routine
and then at university the library was my second home.
However, for lots of people here a library is a concept that
someone told them about and a book is something that they’ve rarely
touched. So really our job was not
daunting at all – get people into the library and get them reading.
My first task was to organise and categorise a huge pile of
donated books. It was a long and arduous task but I consoled myself with the
thought that if I could explain how I’d done it, then my system would be used
for years to come, maybe even generations.
In the meantime, others were making magazine racks,
jewellery racks and display units out of wire and as one of the villagers said,
“out of the same wire that was once used to snare animals.” We were also busy making posters for the
grand opening of the library and designing workshops to educate the community about
how to handle books, how to use the categorisation system and how to make the
most of their brand new resource centre.
The Grand Opening of the library was scheduled for 12 noon
on Saturday, but anyone who has been to Africa will know that there is a whole
different concept of measuring time, where people come when they’re good and
ready, and eventually, they did come.
The ceremony took a while. There were lots of speeches (lots
of long speeches!) but looking around me I saw so many proud faces of people
who had worked so tirelessly to come up with a concept of building a library,
then building the actual library, then filling it with books, that my numb bum
didn’t matter.
Our final contribution was to have a discussion with the
community group about the logistics and running of the library. We talked about book loan systems, rules,
memberships and fees, data bases and reading groups – nothing was decided then,
but the ideas were set in motion ready for a group meeting that will take
place later in the week. This is
glorious Africa after all and things happen when they’re good and ready.
Jessica Lewis –
Combination Volunteer
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