Education Uganda Project #34999

Build School Library & Storeroom for 650 Students

by Outreach Uganda

Project Report | Mar 24, 2020
Library Heavily Used While Needing More Textbooks

By Carol Davis | President

Class time in the library - February 2020

I, along with two other volunteers from the U.S. visited the Agwata school and its library during February. It was an exciting time where we got to see the final finishing coat of paint put on the library's walls. At the same time, students and teachers were busy scheduling their library times both individually and for classes. We even had a special movie night in the library where we used the library's technology equipment to watch the Queen of Katwe movie with the 6th grade students and teachers.

We could see the library is bringing new ways of learning and teaching. We brought over 400 books with us from the U.S. as well as 21 special "book bags" made by students at a Colorado elementary school. Each book bag contained a book, and a cd player which contained the U.S. student reading the book in the bag.

Our English and literacy volunteer worked with the 4th to 6th grade teachers and classes on a variety of English teaching opportunities using the library materials. The photo we have included with this report shows the 6th graders learning how to gather information for reports they were writing in English on assigned topics.

The library still desperately needs funding for more Uganda textbooks for students. We hope to purchase more textbooks this year if funding becomes available. Books are very important, especially for 3rd to 6th graders,because the library is a place where they can come during breaks lunch time, and sometimes at the end of the day, to access and study from textbooks. During class time, often the teacher has a teacher's book for the subject and only 1 or 2 student textbooks to show students or write examples from. Library textbooks will not only help students in the library but the teacher will also be able to check them out so students can share them durng class time.

We thank you for your support of this very valuable project. Please share this gift giving opportunity with friends, family, coworkers, and book lovers that you may know.

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Feb 3, 2020
Great Need for Uganda Textbooks for our Library

By Carol Davis | President

Meet Librarian, Lucy. Help fill the empty shelves!

The Ugandan school year begins today, February 3, 2020. This will be the first full year of use for our library that was completed and put into service in mid-July 2019. Over 600 students and 18 teachers will be using the library this year! Most of the teachers and older students use the library daily for their studies.

I'll be traveling to Uganda again with two U.S. volunteers in a couple of weeks. And we'll be bringing over 400 donated U.S. reading and picture books with us.

But there are two things we can't bring from the U.S. that are some of the most important things our library should have:

Ugandan textbooks for students to use and study from outside of class time
Ugandan social studies and history books and maps as well as other cultural books

Both of these items are very important for Uganda libraries. Books are in short supply in Uganda and most students have no books of their own. Students share a very limited number of books in class. They can only check out books from the library for homework purposes.

As we mentioned in our last report, we have most of the 6th grade textbooks needed but very little textbooks for other classes. We are hoping to raise the needed money to purchase these textbooks through this GlobalGiving project.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support so far in helping make the library a reality, and for beginning this process of acquiring more textbooks. Please reach out to your friends and family if you know teachers, librarians, book lovers and others who would be willing to help with this awesome textbook purchasing project. It will be a wonderful conclusion to our library project to make sure it is as effective and well utilized as possible.

Please share and help us achieve our goal to fill the empty library shelves. Help our Uganda students have the learning materials they need to excel and achieve their dreams!

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Nov 27, 2019
Library Project Almost Done - Still Need Textbooks

By Carol Davis | President

Students Reading at Agwata School Library

Since our last report in late July, the painter has completed painting of both the interior and exterior of the library. The one remaining item still to go as funds become available is to purchase textbooks for the main class subjects in the 1st to 5th grade classes.

Before the library existed, there was no place to store textbooks. And there was no money for textbooks either. This is a typical situation in many primary schools in Uganda. Consequently, only the teachers had the necessary teacher books along with one or two pupil textbooks so they could write examples and problems on the blackboard.

As you can imagine, this is not a good situation. It is one reason we were so excited to be able to help the community build a library for its school. Now there is ample shelving available to store many textbooks. This means each class of 50 to 60 students can come to the library and each student will be able to study from their own textbook. Teachers will also be able to check the textbooks out of the library and take them to their classrooms during instruction times.

Currently, we have about 80% of the textbooks needed for 6th graders. But almost no textbooks for other grade levels. Our textbook shelves are 80% empty. We are hoping for a grant to purchase 5th graders textbooks. We hope that remaining funding needed for 3rd and 4th grader textbooks can be raised as part of this project. Textbook prices vary depending on grade level and subject but usually are in the $7.50 to $10 price range.

We appreciate your invaluable support in constructing the library and helping with its final finish work. If you have friends or family that you think would love to help complete this project with the textbooks, please share this opportunity with them!

Thanks again!

Student Choosing a Book from New Library Shelves

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