Support an African village library in 2011/Bereba

The fall has been a busy time of year for the library in Bereba. Like the other libraries, it has profited from the end of school vacation. Now that everyone is returning from the fields, they have time to sit back, relax and pay a visit to the local village library. Thus, the librarians have seen an increase in the number of visitors, subscriptions and books checked out. Librarians have taken advantage of this time to hold activities, such as card playing and drawing sessions. During one activity in particular, librarians read a story to 20 kids that illustrated how and why to properly wash one’s hands with soap.

In early October, the Ouaga staff of FAVL paid a visit to Bereba. They met with the librarians, toured the library and assembled readers to hear their input. In general, readers were very content with the library and proud to have such an institution in their small village. Their suggestions concentrated on additions to the library’s collection, especially books that supplemented school curricula.

Also in October, the two librarians from Bereba, Ivette and Zomizou, went to a five-day training hosted by Peace Corps Burkina Faso. Trainees learned information about maladies HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and problems common in Burkina such as teenage pregnancy. As well as providing information, trainers gave ideas for activities that participants could hold in village to inform community members. The training was a big success and participants learned a lot. Said Ivette, “My thanks go to the volunteers of the Peace Corps who organized the training that will help us in the education of our children and the facilitation of their knowledge.”  She and her colleague look forward to taking their new knowledge back to village and showing that a library is not a place to read a book, but a center for community knowledge.

All in all, the fall has been very busy in Bereba, and we look forward to more activities in the future.

Links:

• Video of Ouaga staff's visit to Bereba
• FAVL's website
• FAVL's blog

A FAVL summer reading camp took place in Bereba from July 28 to August 3. The camp was the first in the 2011 series run by FAVL. Two Peace Corps volunteers participated in the camp alongside the Burkinabe animators. 25 CM1 (fourth grade) students were chosen to participate in the week-long camp, which emphasized increasing reading skills, awareness of such things as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and creative activities. Most of the students who participated in this camp had a very low reading level, according to the evaluation that was given on the first day. The students were divided into smaller groups based on their reading level, and a good number of the sessions concentrated on reading the alphabet and sounding out words by syllables. The Peace Corps volunteers did a demonstration on how to make a cream out of local ingredients (leaves from a Nime tree, soap, and shea butter) that works as a mosquito repellent. The kids were encouraged to tell their parents about the cream, so that it could be fabricated for home use or as an income generating activity. All in all, the camp at Bereba was successful and the participants hope that we are able to do it again in 2012.

Links:

• Summer Reading Camp Video