A community with books…

Education 4 Change spent two years working to make Hope Library a reality. Over a thousand donated, English books which were reviewed for appropriateness, stamped and entered into an inventory. These books were loaded into crates and shipped to Kelafo.  Local books in the Somali language were also purchased in the cities of Addis Ababa and Jijiga and then shipped to Kelafo. In July of 2018, our teachers and several of our volunteers worked hard at organizing the library and hiring a  local female librarian. Hope Library had its Grand Opening on August 1st, 2018 and now employs 2 full-time librarians.

Hope Library is a permanent library and it is central to many of the villages in the Kelafo area.  Members of the community are now able to visit the library and experience the joy of reading. It has become a community hub where villagers can meet and collaborate on many different projects.  The long-term goal is for Hope Library to become a “Learning Commons” where local teachers can go to get ongoing professional development and curricular resources. There is also a plan underway to introduce technology and internet access to the library.