By Ingrid Jones | Director, Partnere per Femijet
On 15th September the children of Tropoje District returned to school including fourteen six year olds that were beginning their first grade in elementary school. More new children were eager to join the library, but as they needed their parents signed consent to their membership and the parents were not present they had to wait for the next visit of the library to choose their first book. For many children living in Tropoje, they attend school that is a considerable distance from their homes, some walk up to one hour each way, with parents not accompanying them on this daily journey.
During September we raised $503.61 through the Bonus Giving Week towards books and stationery sets enabling the most vulnerable children to return to school. This sum meant were able to buy 50 sets of books, notebooks and pens to give to children living in: Fierze, Llugaj, Babine, Berishe and Pac. The children were thrilled to receive these sets as they felt better about returning for the new school year. We would particularly like to thank The Rotary Club of Huntingdon Cromwell for their generous donation which contributed to half the money raised.
Ian a Peace Corps Volunteer based in Bajram Curri has now volunteered and is supporting the activities of the library. He brings his guitar along and sits in groups with the children singing favourite Albanian and English songs. Sometimes the children feel happy and dance along to the music. Ian has added 40 books to the library's stock adding to the variety available for the children.
Zyber, a retired 80 year old teacher from Bujan, pictured below accompanies his grandsons when the library makes its monthly visit. He told the Library Assistant,
"Now the weather is beginning to turn much colder as winter sets in. With darker and longer nights the children spend more time in their homes and need books and games to entertain themselves. I am so glad that the library comes every month as the boys can have a new book to read. Thank you all for giving us this library."
As the year comes to an end the children are all looking forward to a break from school and the New Year celebrations with their families. The New Year's Day is celebrated with special foods and gifts for the children. At the beginning of December, the Mobile Library received a very large and generous donation from a corporate partner of Globalgiving and this will enable us to purchase gifts for all the children who frequent the library. A heartfelt thank you to VMWare.
I would particularly like to thank all the friends and supporters of the Mobile Library for your continued support and generosity over the year. Without your donations we could not continue to offer the library service.
A Happy New Year to Everyone!
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