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Nyarushanje Community Library and empowerment center

A one stop center that provides rural community members with services in education, skills development and health education

The library and empowerment center spearheads multiple literacy promotion activities that includes provision of reading materials, reading space, facilitating school reading outreaches, setting up of community based satellite libraries and provision of library scholarships and household based reading activities. The center also trains youth and women in skills manual trade and health education.

Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

2013

Established

-

Children

1

Countries
Updated
April 2019

About the innovation

The Community Library and Empowerment Center

The community library and empowerment center is a whole community approach model that was adapted by PeerLink Initiative Uganda (PELI-U) a community rooted children, youth, women and elderly focused non government organization. Our first community library was set up in 2013 and named Nyarushanje Community Library and Empowerment Center after Nyarushanje Subcounty a rural community in South Western Uganda, Rukungiri District. Nyarushanje Subcounty has a total population of 44,883 (20,874 Males and 24,009 Female).

Through the community library and empowerment center PELI-U promotes a holistic development of communities in Uganda by; increasing access to quality education through literacy promotion for children and their families, provision of financial assistance to children to increase access to education, improving the socio-economic well being of households through entrepreneurship and skills development for youth and women and strengthening the health of communities through increasing children, youth and women access to health education and services.

The multiple literacy promotion programs/activities implemented through the community library and empowerment center include provision of reading space, reading materials and lobbying and advocating for a reading hour in primary schools once a week. We carry out school based reading in schools where our library staff takes books/readers to community schools since there are no functional libraries in the rural schools and communities. We have a team of 9 community based volunteers (1 from each of the 9 Parishes/smaller communities that make up Nyarushanje Subcounty) who spearhead reading in far off communities where members cannot walk to the static library. To strengthen children’s reading abilities and create a supportive environment at home we are implementing the Library Scholar reading program through which we support 20 primary three pupils with scholarships and work with 20 households to implement household reading activities, print and provide readers to children at home and facilitate reading sessions during the weekly reading hour.

Within the same library and empowerment center we have a skills development through which we provide children, youth and women with practical skills training in skills manual trade (tailoring, cookery, computer skills, gardening, etc). We also build the capacity of teachers to reflect on their practice, create content jointly working in subject teams and integrate participatory methods of teaching and learning in their teaching and learning process. We provide teachers with opportunity to access computer resources and use library facilities to be innovative, creative and access internet.

There is a health unit department through which we provide health education and link community members with health service providers.



Implementation steps

Starting a community library and empowerment center

There is need to carry out a mapping exercise to find out the needs in the community, existing service providers in the community and establish gaps and strengths. Find out if there is need for a community library and the desired location. Its best if the facility is named after the community.

Starting Community Based Satellite Libraries

a) Community drives and selection of volunteer community based library volunteers. Carry out drives in different communities and publicize the existence of the main community library and empowerment center and its services. Request community to select a volunteer to represent them.

b) Engage all selected volunteers in continuous dialogue (monthly or quarterly) for over a year to update them on library activities, sensitize them on importance of the library, request them to establish the needs in their communities and existing interventions. Get their input on how best distant communities can utilise library services. Over time request those who can identify space in community and are willing to spare time to run small libraries to come up. Provide reading materials to the libraries, train the library volunteers on library management, registration of library users, recording of books, organize to pick books and return them. Engage them in all library and center activities. Facilitate and support community based satellite libraries.
Running a Library Scholar Reading Program

a) Work with community based library coordinators to identify community schools from where to select the scholars

b) Community based library coordinators work with school administrators and teachers to identify needy and bright learners as scholars.

c) School administrators meet with the parents/and guardians to explain the program. The scholar has to be in a day school, live in community and parents commit to spearhead reading activities at home. Library coordinators visit homes to ensure that most needy are selected.

d) Community based Reading Facilitators are selected to guide the selected households

e) A sensitization and kick off meeting is held with all households and scholars to explain the program, highlight parental roles, reading facilitators and other expectations

e) The Reading facilitators meet with their respective households and plan the specific household schedule (1 weekly reading hour, possible activities).

f) The main community library staff print readers (from online resources) and deliver to households-some other books are taken from the main library to the satellite libraries and households are encouraged to borrow them.

g) Under the guidance of a reading facilitator each household engages in a weekly reading hour focusing on the Library scholar, the siblings and parents. Some sessions are facilitated by parents who engage in oral tradition development.

h) Reading facilitators hold monthly review meetings

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