The mobile library project continues to operate normally.  Here are the most recent (translated) reports from Ouedrogo Bernard, the BMP operator (and librarian of Pissila library).

Friday, November 16, 2018, before 13h, I arrived at the school Center A with the BMP. I found that almost all CM2 grade students were still there. There were also some CEs. Those in CM2 were shy and stressed because they said they had a history and geography assignment in the same evening at 3pm. With that, I proposed to change site to allow them to work; but they together disapproved of my proposal. That's when I put the books at their disposal. We organized free and guided reading. At the end of the reading, I asked each student to give the title and author of her favorite book. This exercise revealed that the majority of students do not consider the title and the author in their reading. So, I said that to make a good reading, you have to start with the title without forgetting the author. The children enjoyed this exercise very much. By the way, we played the puzzle. We played those whose pieces were animals. It was necessary to mention the names of the animals which constituted the different pieces. This game was very beneficial for the students because they discovered the name of an insect that is the ladybug. In addition to the puzzle game, I improvised a coloring session with elementary students. The exit was as a whole well finished around 15h minus. Students want to receive BMP in their school every day.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018, arriving at the office at 10am, I went to get the BMP to the Niwaogo hostel where it is parked for security reasons. I noticed that it was covered with dust and I washed it myself in the office. I also cleaned the shelves. After that, I made an outing to the communal school A. About 12h, I was on the spot. The students were eating (about twenty students). They gave up their food and ran to the BMP, which is very well known throughout the neighborhood. After having everything installed, I invited them to read. Everyone chose their favorite book and started reading by asking questions about words they did not understand. We played a game about naming. The game is organized together on the parts of the body. In addition to the game on the human body, the students offered to play a letter game. This game was organized with great enthusiasm. The women who sold at the small market of the said school were interested in the reading and the games and saw to have more information on the BMP. They very much appreciated the initiative. Around 14h 30 minutes the students became more numerous which forced me to pack up to avoid the big disorder or the theft of books by the children.

The BMP visits three schools each week.

In September 2018, FAVL director Michael Kevane spent two weeks working with FAVL-BF staff. As part of the trip, children's books (about $70 worth) were purchased using the funds from GlobalGiving donations. These books were then distributed to libraries and are now available for reading.

What is new at FAVL Burkina Faso?

• We have received a generous donation to work with the village of Koho to help start a library to honor the memory of the donor's beloved godmother, Clarice Weiniger. The mayor of Houndé (the rural commune in which Koho is located) has received our initial proposal and budget estimate. He and his staff, and councilors from the Koho community, will talk with the director of the gold mine that operates near Koho and which is a partner for many village projects. The Rural Council's budget session was Monday, November 20th. They were supposed to have discussed the project at that time. We have not heard back from them yet.
• We are proceeding to re-open the community library in Ouargaye. The mayor has been unwilling to establish a budget line for a staff person to be the librarian, preferring instead to use a succession of interns, national service personnel, or "volunteers" (often someone from the community who has finished secondaray school and wants some professional work experience, expecting to receive informal cash payments from the office of the mayor). Such a volunteer has now been recruited by the mayor, and will be trained by FAVL-BF staff in the coming months.
• The FAVL-BF staff visited the library of Niankorodougou in the far south of Burkina Faso. Everything was operating normally and the librarian is paid regularly from the mayor's office. They have started a reading club!
• The FAVL-BF team is continuing conversations with CENALAC, the government library support organisation. CENALAC has been allocated a budget of 500,000 FCFA per library (about $1000) per year for supporting library operations. They are not transparent how they spend those funds, however. We would like the 34 FAVL-supported libraries to become part of that network and be recognized as community libraries by CENALAC. The new director of CENLAC was open to the idea but pessimistic that the government would increase funding.
• The Hounde multimedia center (FAVL-BF local book production unit) has produced a new series authored by Koura Sylvie:
  Békila va à l’école, Békila fête la fin de la saison pluvieuse, Békila voyage, Le retour de Békila du village, and Békila apprend le lavage des mains. Sylvie also really likes reading the Harry Potter series!

The mobile library project is launched and working. The project target of $6500 was almost reached thanks to a generous donor at the end of 2017 and many other donors who have contributed over the years!  In January 2018 books were purchased for the tricycle, with a large selection of children's books, mostly fiction but we are also looking hard for children's non-fiction. In February 2018 the team solicited quotes for purchasing a tricycle motorbike, and a vendor was selected in March 2018 and the motorbike purchased. A local metalworker then built the "kiosk" that goes on the back of the bike. A carepenter built some shelves, and large woven mats were purchased (for kids to sit on while reading). A local graphic artist then painted the kiosk and bike in a vibrant yellow, with some pictures of children reading on it.

The motorbike went out to Kaya town (one hour north of Ouagadougou), in April 2018, and did some test runs. The librarian of Pissila expressed interest in being the mobile librarian. he took a driver's education course, and in May received his official drivers license to drive the motorbike. The final papers for the motorbike purchase also were received and it passed its inspection procedures (yes, a lot of bureaucracy, but that is good, in the end!). 

In June and July during summer vacation the motobike has begun to visit various locations in Kaya. At the beginning of the school year in October the motorbike will have a regular run of schools that will be visited once a week.  Thanks to all the donors for making this experiment a reality!