The Library Has Been Completed! (with photo album)

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to the completion of the "first" library in Adjengre, Togo.  I especially want to thank all my friends, family and Peace Corps admin that supported me throughout the project.

Just a quick recap:  There is an existing library already in Adjengre adjacent to the Cultural Center (a big concrete room where they occasionally hold town meeting).  It is the size of a closest and has about 10-20 old, useless books.  I really wanted to renovate that library because the location of the library would have been ideal as it is in the exact center of town and therefore easier to access by everyone.  However in the ended I decided to build it in the high school because of the following reasons:

1. Cost: It is the size of a large closet, literally, so the cost of renovating was very, very high.  I would have basically had to build a whole new building.
2. Sustainability: The library is never open because there is no librarian just someone who works at the Cultural Center sometimes.  I have never seen it open when I have been walking by and when I did want to see the library I had to wait an hour till someone found the guy who had the key.  I would then have to pay for someone to be the librarian and that would be impossible to have it be sustainable.
3. Most impact: Sadly, the people who are going to make the most use of out of the library are teachers and students.  There is not a culture of reading or searching for information here.

 All these issues were solved if I constructed it at the high school

1. Cost: The school gave me a room and all I had to do is block up the windows, build furniture and buy books.  A lot, yes, but I didn't have to construct a new building.
2. Sustainability: The school has set up a committee of students and teachers to manage it without me having to direct them.  Teachers and students worked tirelessly everyday to set it up, bring the furniture from the carpenter, etc.  Each student who wants a library card pays 200CFA per year (about 30 cents).  They collect all the money and are saving it in order to buy new books, replace lights, etc.  It is open almost all day, every day.
3. Most impact: There are already 114 students who have signed up for a library card and more every week. The teachers are starting to incorporate the library's resources into their courses.

You have to understand that students don't even have school books, let alone access to the internet and therefore a library, for the majority, is their only access to books and information.

Here is a photo album I put together chronicling the creation of the library!

Building a Library

Thank you!