Creating computer programs to teach reading in Zambian Languages
Checks can be sent to:
Lubuto Library Project, Inc.
5505 Connecticut Ave NW #368
Washington, DC 20015-2601
USA
Learn more about how you can help here.
Combined Federal Campaign #12370
Read about the work of Jennifer, a current Lubuto volunteer in Lusaka, Zambia on the Lubuto blog.
Who are Lubuto's Children?
It is estimated that there were 43 million orphans in the sub-Saharan Africa in 2003 – just over 12 percent of all children. Part of this desperate situation, which is projected to deteriorate further, can be traced to the HIV/AIDS crisis.
- 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS. By 2010, this number is expected to exceed 25 million.
- Because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a growing share of Africa's children are being orphaned. Unlike most diseases, HIV/AIDS generally kills not just one, but both parents.
When parents or caregivers fall sick and die, a child’s life often falls apart. With HIV and AIDS, the hardship hits well before children are orphaned. First a parent or caregiver becomes ill with HIV or AIDS, and is unable to work.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is most severe, more and more orphans are heading up their own households. In 12 African countries, it is expected that, by 2010, orphans will make up 15 per cent of all children under 15 year old.
Second and Third Lubuto Libraries in final planning stages
The Lubuto Library Project® has reached a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Zambia naming Lubuto as the “national partner” in providing literacy and library services to Zambia’s orphans and vulnerable children in cooperation with the Zambian government and the nation’s network of educational institutions.
Lubuto is moving forward with its second and third libraries for children, planned for Lusaka’s Garden Compound and Nabukuyu, Zambia. This progress is due to the very generous support of Dow Jones and Company and its employees, Oprah’s Angel Network, Marilyn Hollinshead, and our other loyal donors. Design, construction and staffing details are being finalized and preparations made for groundbreaking at these sites. Additional sites and funding sources are being identified and work is underway to further expand the network of Lubuto libraries.
These are exciting times for Lubuto. However, our work is just beginning. To scale up and reach more children with our libraries and more programs, we continue to collect and organize books and to raise funds for present and planned libraries. You can help us to complete and sustain these libraries and future ones by organizing a book drive, raising or donating much-needed funds, volunteering with us to build and catalog book collections, or by starting a Lubuto Library club/support group at your high school, college or workplace.
It is Lubuto’s mission to serve orphans and vulnerable children and youth, giving them hope for their futures by enriching their lives and stimulating their imaginations now. Please help us in creating these safe havens and in bringing excellent library programs, services and spaces to these deserving children. Be a part of our excitement and success!
The Lubuto Library Project
Lubuto is a word in the Bemba language, spoken in central Africa, that signifies knowledge, enlightenment and light.
The Lubuto project creates high quality, open-access libraries to serve Africa's street kids and other vulnerable children and youth. The library provides a safe haven and an opening to the world beyond the bleak streets. Lubuto offers educational services and the simple pleasure of books and the arts for children who find themselves alone in the world. Giving the burgeoning numbers of street children the chances they deserve to develop their imaginations and to realize their potential is Lubuto’s challenge.
Lubuto’s highly professional organization, in the US and Zambia, does not work as an isolated charity. The sustainability of its program is ensured through partnership with government, community-based organizations, and professional groups, and Lubuto libraries are owned and run by Zambians.
Read more about Lubuto Libraries.
A Lubuto Library is more than just a room to read
Dr. Denise E. Agosto is an internationally respected expert in multicultural issues in children's and young adult literature and in library resources and services for youth; she is a strong supporter of the Lubuto Library Project. Her research and that of other library professionals shows that libraries do much more than just provide books. Public libraries play three main roles critical to the happy, healthy development of young people: an information gateway, a space for social interaction and entertainment and a beneficial physical environment.
Lubuto’s challenge is to reach large numbers of Zambia’s street kids, orphans and other vulnerable children who are mostly out of school and to offer them an opportunity for informal education, constructive engagement with society and personal fulfilment. This mission is possible through the model of Lubuto's full-service libraries, providing information, learning, literacy, cultural awareness, artistic expression and social services. The library provides a community space for social interaction, community building and entertainment purposes.
A Lubuto library is a safe, nurturing and beautiful space for children who have few options. Our model for library programs and service in a compassionate atmosphere has the power for a lasting, positive influence on the children we reach, helping them to create a brighter future both for themselves and for their communities.
