THE LIBRARY ON WHEELS - A MOBILE COMMUNITY LIBRARY

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At the beginning of last year (2023) I took time to introspectively think about and analyse the educational gaps in my community (Kasese, Uganda) and some of the findings have led to the great initiative I am writing about here.

The literacy and early education levels of children in socio-economically disadvantaged areas in Uganda is generally low. Children drop out or are absent from class for several reasons. Among poor families, the cost of school uniforms, books, stationery, becomes too much to bear, pushing children out of school or leading families into debt. Most children suffer greatly from deprivation of basic education and organised learning. This has resulted in several drawbacks including an absent reading culture amongst many children.

An alarming population of youths in Uganda (and particularly Kasese, where I come from) lack access to 21st century relevant competencies and are at high risk of unemployment, teenage pregnancy, poverty and criminal engagement. A major factor behind this has been traced to the lack of a proper educational foundation and the absence of a reading culture. There are limited public and school libraries, or even community learning centres across the entire country. Such facilities serve as incubators for knowledge and creative ideas and are necessary to engineer a positive and innovative youth culture.

Having gathered these details about our educational standard as a community, I thought I needed to do something with my friends:

I am very excited to announce that my friends and I have recently launched a Mobile Community Library in Kasese, with the primary goal of bridging some of these educational resource gaps in rural areas of Kasese.

This project is an initiative of the SAMIC Club, a group of (5 friends including myself and 4 others) who have been meeting weekly since 2019 to read and discuss books, mutually support each other's growth in all aspects as well as discuss how they can address some of the needs and concerns of our community and world. My friends and I have since the beginning 2023 been discussing the possibility of establishing this project which we were delighted to be able to achieve in November, 2023.

The mobile library is housed on a tricycle (locally known as tuku-tuku), which will always deliver a diverse collection of books and reading materials to identified schools and community hubs on a weekly basis. We will conduct at least four sessions in different areas each week. The Mobile Library is designed to reach schools and communities in remote areas that lack access to traditional libraries.

During these sessions, children will engage in a two-hour book reading session, followed by an additional 45 minutes for asking questions and participating in discussions. The curated collection includes books that align with the National Curriculum, as well as novels, language books, children's literature, and thematic works covering subjects such as peace, climate, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights, agriculture, and other relevant topics.

We believe that this Mobile Library will not only enhance access to educational resources but also foster a love for reading and learning among the young children in our community.