One 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 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 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 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 MoreLast Thursday was World Book Day. To commemorate this I showed the boys at Fountain of Hope Lubuto Library how to make their own mini books from a sheet of A4 paper and we spent a happy morning creating our own masterpieces.
Read MoreOn Saturday 23rd February, both of the LubutoDrama groups met for the first time at Ngwerere Lubuto Library (NLL), and each performed a play for the assembled audience. I was at Fountain of Hope Lubuto Library (FOHLL) in the morning, helping the group to get ready.
Read MoreI arrived back in Lusaka a few weeks ago, and since then have been caught up in a whirlwind of Lubuto activity! It is a very busy but very exciting time. My role with Lubuto has been developed, so I will now be spending time in both of the libraries in Lusaka.
Read MoreOn November 3 and 10, LubutoMentoring program had its two wrap-up sessions at both of the Lubuto Libraries. The Reading Room was full to capacity.
Read MoreA couple of weekends ago we celebrated the finale of the LubutoMentoring programme. All of the 120+ kids who have been involved were invited to an event where they gave us some evaluative feedback on the programme, and received awards and certificates to help them celebrate their success.
Read MoreA little while ago my counterpart Kasela and I were invited to attend a 3-day workshop on Helping Grieving Children at Fountain of Hope. It was a really interesting course and we learnt a lot about the different kinds of grief that the kids we encounter...
Read MoreThe LubutoMentoring sessions are now in full swing, and the whole experience continues to be an education for me (and not only in terms of learning the differences between the way that Zambians and Brits organise such events!).
Read MoreWe've been very busy at the Lubuto Library Project recently. We are re-launching the LubutoMentoring programme, and have held introductory meetings for all of the 120+ kids who want to be involved
Read MoreTwo really good things have happened this week, and both are a result of the flexible library space that we enjoy here at Lubuto.First, I have started to do some LubutoStorytimes outside.
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