By Sixtine Le Jeanne | Library Project Manager
Already 6 months have passed since the year started. Time to take stock of the progress.
We have changed the location of our mobile library, it is now located in an area with better visibility and more traffic. Also, we have installed a library in a container in the education hub (the school area in the camp) which includes lots of different activities for children.
Our container is filled with new board games, suitable for children and teenagers, and for some months, we organize activity times for the refugee children, which are crafts, reading, film viewing sessions, and various games. These moments have been a real success. Today 15 children attended!
Starfish has observed a clear increase in books being borrowed. Nearly 250 books have been lent out in 6 months. 1/3 in Farsi (language spoken in Afghanistan and Iran), 1/3 in English, and almost a quarter in Somali. Nearly 80% are adult books and about 20% are children’s books, most of them for under 12 years old. The most popular books are fiction and language learning books (mainly English, German and French). With over 7000 books in more than 20 languages, they are always available in our library for potential requests.
One of our innovations is our board game stations inside the camp at strategic points of life which are also a great success. People of all ages can come and play carrom, Uno, cards, ludo and so on.
Board game evenings, open to all, are also held every Thursday in our OpenSpace community hub in downtown Mytilene. This concept is very successful and attracts more and more people to various games. We are satisfied to observe a mix between refugees and local people, allowing us to create friendly time, integration, cultural sharing, and socializing.
With your involvement, the library project both in OpenSpace and in the camp continues to grow. These projects, with the daily efforts of our team, could not be as effective without your contribution.
Thank you from all of us
The Starfish Team
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