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| LubutoDrama as effective reading promotion and a Safety Net for Daniel |
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Newsletter #48 - September 2014
Click here for PDF version |
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| LubutoDrama as effective reading promotion |
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We weren’t at all surprised when some participants in our ever-popular LubutoDrama program won the top honors at a recent festival of Barefeet Theatre, a local organization that works with vulnerable youth through drama. Lubuto originally partnered with Barefeet to design the LubutoDrama approach to developing a script, creating costumes and preparing youth for performances. What distinguishes LubutoDrama is how the program is integrated with the libraries, their book collections and outreach efforts. The plays are based on outstanding books from the collection, and the scripts are developed through reading and analysis of the stories. Plays are performed in the libraries’ large outdoor performance spaces with sometimes hundreds of community members attending. So the whole community benefits, and most importantly, children and youth watching the performances are directly inspired to read books in the libraries and/or get involved in the libraries’ programs.
At the end of a LubutoDrama performance, library staff introduces the book on which the play was based, which has proven to be an extraordinarily effective way to promote reading. This approach was inspired by the comment of a young member of the audience of a LubutoDrama performance who told a Lubuto librarian how much she loved the story and was delighted to be told that she could read it in the library – an offer she dashed into the library immediately to accept!
News of performances spreads like wildfire through Lubuto Libraries’ surrounding communities. Enjoyment of the performances, in turn, has more and more young people flocking to the libraries every day!
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| A Safety Net for Daniel |
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Daniel is a 13 year old "regular" at the Ngwerere library. We knew he was a double orphan living with his grandmother through data we gather on library program participants, and he has been very involved with three of them: LubutoMentoring, LubutoDrama and LubutoLiteracy. Like so many who find a second home in a Lubuto library, the library became such a central place in his life that he regularly volunteered to shelve books and keep the collection in order.
Recently Stephen, one of the staff at Ngwerere, walked home with Daniel at day’s end to keep him company. Daniel seemed nervous on the walk and finally confessed to Stephen that he had been living on his own in his house. His grandmother had recently remarried and moved away to a rural area. Daniel was left behind; alone, hungry and afraid. New tenants would soon be moving into the house forcing Daniel out to fend for himself. Stephen found Daniel a temporary home for that night with his step-father.
The next day we connected Daniel to Kenny Hau, who guides outreach for Lubuto libraries at the Fountain of Hope shelter. He is staying there for now and continues to find a refuge at Fountain of Hope’s Lubuto Library. He says it is his favorite place to be. Our next step is finding a scholarship for Daniel so he can continue attending school. Daniel is not alone anymore; he has his Lubuto family looking out for him.
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| Please join us as a sustaining supporter |
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As a Sustaining Supporter, you will receive an email with each donation to keep you informed of Lubuto's latest developments, of which you are a key supporter. And as you know, this support gives thousands of children, who may otherwise never see the pages of a book, the opportunity to learn, communicate and grow in beautiful, safe and welcoming libraries, making a real and lasting difference in their lives. A modest donation charged to your credit card each month or quarter helps Lubuto tremendously.
Click here to make a difference every month.
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Volunteer of the Month
Our September Volunteer of the Month is Judy Harris. Judy has been raising funds for Lubuto since 2007. |
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Copyright © 2014 Lubuto Library Project, Inc.
The Lubuto Library Project is exempt from U.S. Federal income tax as a public charity
under Section 501(C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. |
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