Building libraries in Africa
By Dana Nialis
The average yearly income of a person in the West African nation of Burkina Faso is the equivalent to $150 U.S., according to professor Michael Kevane.
This meager amount does not leave the country's inhabitants with much of an expendable income, and makes it nearly impossible for them to purchase books. This is where Friends of African Village Libraries, a nonprofit organization started by two Santa Clara professors, steps in.
Kevane, who teaches economics, and his wife, environmental science professor Leslie Gray, spoke at an event last week about their experiences with FAVL, which they started with Kate Parry, a professor in the English department at Hunter College, City University of New York.
This nonprofit aims to provide access to reading and knowledge for adults and children in African villages who normally would not have such things available to them.
Emma Nagengast, the who coordinate the event, thought of the idea for this information session after learning about the organization in an economics course taught by Kevane.
She said she was interested in learning more about FAVL and sharing information about it with her fellow Santa Clara students. She said she also hoped to increase interest in the study abroad opportunity in Burkina Faso that will begin next fall.
Gray said she wanted to inform students of this new opportunity.
"We are starting a new West Africa study abroad program that is going to be a kind of a service learning, an experiential learning experience for students," she said. "We wanted to really be able to talk a little bit about this to get some student interest, and also to show people the sorts of things that we are doing with our libraries."
Gray and Kevane said they were happy to speak at the event because they were eager to share their organization's purpose.
"I think the things that we do in Africa are good examples of a very small scale, but very dedicated, long-term commitment to volunteer work," said Kevane.
The event provided the attending students, who gathered in the California Mission Room, with information regarding the libraries and the people benefiting from their establishment. FAVL is involved with two types of libraries: FAVL-managed libraries and FAVL-affiliated libraries.
In the case of FAVL-managed libraries, unpaid staff members from the United States work with the village communities to establish the libraries.
This model is management-intensive and requires a long-term commitment between the African community and the nonprofit organization.
FAVL gives affiliated libraries assistance with management oversight, but has no long-term financial commitment to the library.
Thus far, the organization has built libraries in Ghana, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, and it recently received a grant to start developing a library in Sierra Leone.
Ten libraries have been built so far, and there are thousands of villages across Africa that need these libraries.
"There is no shortage of villages that need libraries. There is a shortage of donors able to commit to a library," said Kevane.
Kevane and Gray also urged Santa Clara students to consider the many volunteer needs that their organization has to offer.
They discussed opportunities in bookkeeping, networking and fundraising, as well as their summer volunteer programs, and their need for book donations.
Contact Dana Nialis at dnialis@scu.edu.