It’s back to school season and the Ngwerere Lubuto Library is not short of the excitement from the children. So, we've chosen to call it "Back to Lubuto" season.
Read MoreOne of the joys of visiting a Lubuto Library often is seeing familiar faces. The experience is enhanced by interacting with people you’ve seen around but never really got the chance to talk to. Under normal circumstances, this should be a happy experience but my meeting Naluyele for the first time actually had the opposite effect. It made me quite sad.
Read MoreI couldn’t wait to meet Zefe and Nolasco when I first heard their story from Brenda at Fountain of Hope regarding how they “stole” school.
Read MoreThe other day there was a girl sitting in the insaka. The insaka is one of the library buildings, a small, round, open space where children often gather. It's a "lobby" of sorts,
Read MoreI am one of those weird people who loves public speaking. I find it invigorating. Even more than public speaking, though, I love reading. So it comes as a surprise to no one when I say that I love storytimes-- they are public reading, shared experiences in which I can make a story I love come alive for a group of children.
Read MoreWhen I worked in Lubuto's D.C. office, I spent a fair amount of time captioning photos that other people had taken in the libraries. Looking through those pictures was always fun-- seeing the big smiles, the crowds of children watching or participating in drama performances, and the teen artists bent over their masterpieces.
Read MoreLibrary users at Ngwerere Lubuto Library have been using Wikipedia for Schools and the World Book Encylopedia (digital) for over a month now. I’ve spent some time at the library observing the use of these e-resources and interacting with users.
Read MoreLast Saturday, at Ngwerere Library, LubutoDrama members performed a play inspired by Umba Soko's Who Saved ThePrince in which a group of village elders save a prince from a big snake.
Read MoreOur new Regional Director, Lieke Berghauser Pont, reflects on the recent Youth Day Celebrations at Fountain of Hope. On Wednesday March 12th, Youth Day was celebrated at the Lubuto Library at Fountain of Hope.
Read MoreLubuto library users just performed a play they have been rehearsing for 6 weeks. Today's play was based on the popular picture book, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters.
Read MoreThis week, youth from our two Lubuto Libraries graduated from the mentoring program. They had gone through 12 lessons designed by Dr. Lawrence Mukuka, a Zambian Sociologist, and delivered by trained library staff.
Read MoreThe Government of Zambia recently announced the Grade 9 examination results. Zambia’s education system remains a cut-off point system, meaning students have to achieve a certain score in nation-wide exams at Grade 7 and Grade 9 to progress to Grade 8 and Grade 10 respectively.
Read MoreToday marks the end of seven days national mourning declared for Nelson Mandela in Zambia. Over the past week, Lubuto Libraries have been places where children came to reflect on what Mandela meant to them.
Read MoreOur libraries are more than places where you find an excellent collection of books. They are also places where children can come to find a way to express themselves in our different programs. Some children come to the library because it is a safe environment.
Read MoreOne of the activities that we do at Lubuto is connect with children living and working on the streets. This week, I joined our outreach team from FOHLL at Lusaka’s Soweto Market and read The Three Little Pigs with children we met at the market.
Read MoreOur two Lubuto Libraries in Lusaka continue to draw large numbers of children. The libraries complement the formal education system by providing high quality collections and programming to all children, especially vulnerable children.
Read MoreLast week saw our fourth LubutoDrama performance. As is now usual, the groups from both libraries came together to perform and celebrate their achievements. I didn't think that things could get any better than our third performance, a month or so ago, but I was wrong!
Read MoreI would like to share some of the highlights of the past month: - The Lubuto Outreach team is gaining the trust of the girls at Vision of Hope and our visits there are becoming increasingly vibrant.
Read MoreAs part of our outreach program we have begun to work with Vision of Hope, a residential centre for girls who live and work on the street in John Howard Compound, Southern Lusaka.
Read MoreI am currently on my Christmas/New Year break but just wanted to write an update of a couple of the things that have been happening in the Fountain of Hope Lubuto Library over the last month or so.
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