"Zambia: Lubuto Library Partners and the COVID-19 Pandemic"

Lubuto’s operations in Zambia changed dramatically when the coronavirus arrived in the country. The libraries average 2,500 visits per week which meant that adapting to a “new normal” by closing our doors to so many children was a dramatic change in the lives of those children and of our library staff.  

We still have an obligation to serve the most vulnerable in our community and regardless of the closure of our buildings, children continue to come to the libraries because they’ve nowhere else to go and nothing to do. Our library spaces were designed in a way that placed value on outdoor space just as much as the indoor space. Those wide open areas were perfectly conducive to adapted programming, safely facilitated in line with public health messaging. And that is just what we did. 

The Immediate adjustments called for all staff to work from home and to be provided with internet, safe transport and masks, and to be briefed on safety & reporting networks. We were able to obtain some supplemental donor support for the added costs that we incurred. Lubuto also joined with local community response groups and mapping efforts. The libraries’ technical staff turned their attention to collection and systems management, and other tasks such as online cataloging, recruiting and training new staff, tasks that are best done when there are no patrons. 

We also laid the groundwork for new mentoring programs and measuring their impact, caught up on data entry backlogs for the M&E system, identified and ordered books, computers and other commodities for our active ASHA grants, and continued refinement of our computer-based literacy lessons in Zambian languages. We also worked to make our existing digital resources and new ones more readily available to those who were fortunate enough to have internet access.

As for our very popular library programs, we continued limited in-person programming in the outdoor library spaces for another month. Our resourceful, creative and dedicated staff immediately responded to the crisis with a whole raft of ideas that they could implement to ensure the children and youth who rely on our libraries for a sense of place, inclusion and enjoyment were not left behind. 

However, after the initial period that allowed staff to work in-person with socially-distanced groups of children (e.g. using music, song and dance to teach coronavirus safety practices), we had to curb the outdoor activities. Even so, the staff were as busy and dedicated as ever – using text messaging, Facebook live, WhatsApp groups and phone calls to maintain close relationships with children who are now dealing with anxiety and fear – and sorely missing their library!

The family literacy program facilitator continues -remotely- to teach young mothers and their children to read in English. Enesto, the art program facilitator has been helping children express their fears and anxieties about Covid-19 in drawings. They then send their art work to Enesto who has moved instinctively into the realm of art therapy!

Our chief librarian types out and sends popular stories (think Frog & Toad) as text messages to parents and caregivers to read to their children, and works with a volunteer to film sessions of our sign-language story time. The older children are contacting their beloved drama and outreach facilitator to talk about the often very serious problems they are encountering. In the virtual mentoring sessions that he conducts, the facilitator responds to the children’s longing for the library to reopen by discussing faith. When their anxiety increased with the increasing spread of the coronavirus in their world, he guided them to think about hope. From there, a natural progression was to focus on love and the strong bonds created by our library communities.

In our rural library, the wide-open outdoor spaces have allowed the library staff to continue the beloved story times and mentoring programs, and creatively maintain the lifeline they have established for girls who are escaping the fate of child marriage.

Schools have reopened in Zambia, as have other public libraries. But those institutions do not face the challenge we have because of the heavy use of our libraries, so we are still trying to find a way to reopen safely.

As with the rest of the world, we cannot know what will be the new reality once it’s safe to let children return to the libraries they miss so much. The only thing that seems certain is that it will be different. In this 15th anniversary of our founding we have been looking back at our origins in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable young people. We know that by relying on the talents and generosity of caring Zambians, and on the strong pull of the community, we have created something that is just what children, and their communities, want and need. That experience lights the way for our future direction and can guide us going forward.

The children who fervently miss their library visits, are not primarily clamoring to read books or use computers. Instead, they are eager to talk to with our staff, to share their concerns, to get advice and support from their very caring and empathetic mentors at the library. Those important mentoring relationships are a lifeline to and between the children and our staff. Mentoring, in the rich and varied forms it takes in Lubuto Libraries, has surfaced -we believe- as our most enduring impact and offering to children. That, and the embrace of an accepting and joyful community.

"Please Open The Library"

A Plea from Patricia, a Young Library Patron

The following is an account of one of the children who dearly misses the library and its many programs.

Patricia is a grade 12 pupil at Olympia Park Secondary School and was a regular library user before COVID-19 forced the closure of the libraries. Even though she lives quite far from the Model Library and she walked the 30 minutes to the library from her home several times a week; she rarely missed a Lubuto program.

Since the library closed, Patricia has kept in touch with the staff. She calls often to ask when the library will open. Patricia says she feels that something big is missing in her life since the library closed. Still, she says she will be fine once her school reopens - even if the library is still closed.

Nevertheless, she can’t wait to meet her friends at the library, laugh with them and continue with programs such as drama and movie time. Patricia's parents had always encouraged her to visit the library after school, but now they want her to come home from school immediately which is frustrating to her.

One week Patricia called Besa (a staff member) twice to ask if there had been any progress towards opening the Model Library. Patricia prevailed upon Besa, “Please ask everyone at Lubuto to consider re-opening the library soon. I will volunteer and I can help the staff with the small children and keep them safe from Covid-19. After all, I will finish my grade 12 soon and won’t have so much to do at home.”