Christmas Party!

Seasons Greetings...

I organized a Christmas party for the kids at Fountain of Hope today. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning to spend my holidays in Namibia, so the party's timing was a bit off but no one seemed to mind at all. A traditional Zambian Christmas meal of chicken and rice was served before the festivities began: dance party, present distribution, attack of the blow-up Santas and treats like the lovely pastries provided by David and Kimberly.

Here are some photos...Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice!

- Holly

P.S. My birthday is on Christmas Eve, and I was born in Bethlehem...Pennsylvania. Love this time of year, being the Messiah and all.

Lemmy

Above: our favorite Photobooth shot

Lemmy is 22 and stays on the street in the City Market area. I met him at Fountain of Hope last week and asked him to visit me at the library. He came back the next day and the day after that. Sunday afternoon, I saw him in a group seated at a stone table outdoors in the Soweto market, and he assured me he'd see me at the library Monday. He did.

Today (Tuesday), I asked the library assistants to give me their choices for "best books" in the subject areas to add to a document I'm creating. Lemmy took it upon himself to present a few of his favorites, although he has limited literacy skills and hasn't spent much time with the collection. He wanted to take part in the project. He also wanted to learn how to use my laptop, and he was able to enter bibliographic information into the document by the end of the afternoon. He selected our oversize copy of Kenneth Grahame's classic, The Wind in the Willows with detailed, large illustrations, and had a story time with a few of the very young boys who stay at Fountain of Hope. He crafted his own story based on the pictures. Rat and Mole became Lemmy and Holly, and Badger's house became Lubuto library. The kids loved the story, especially since the other characters were assigned the identities of kids they know from life in the streets. Lemmy is working on his English. He is primarily a Bemba speaker.

Here is an interview I did with Lemmy the first day I met him that morphs into an interview with Joe, who was sitting with us:



Do you like the library?
Yeah.

Why?
I like books.

What grade have you finished?
Up to grade 7.

What do you think about having books here?
If this library wasn’t here, we wouldn’t be able to see these books.

What do you think is good about having books here?
Some of these books can help us learn English and know how to read. We know different kinds of things that happen. Like histories that used to happen a long time ago.

What have you learned from being around books and reading them?
I am a newcomer in libraries. I come here and go back on the street and come here and go back. I’m not here all the time because I do not stay here.

When you’re on the street, do you ever think to yourself, ‘Hey, I want to go to the library?’”
Yes.

Do you feel different when you’re on the street? Is it different to be here in the library?
It’s quiet, and no one can make noise. In the street, you won’t think about reading because there’s too much noise. You can play cards, but you can’t be without noise.

Did you tell anyone else on the street about the library?
Only one.

What did you tell him?
I was encouraging him because he was in school before, so I told him there was a library at Fountain of Hope that could keep him busy.

I think the people who have built this library have done a good job.
This book is National Geographic Prehistoric Mammals.

Why do you like this book?
I want to know more about a long time ago.

So you opened to the Pleistocene illustration. That is in Kenya, did you know that?
No, I didn’t know that. This is a bush man.

What can you learn from the pictures in this book?
I can see from this picture that the elephant needs manzi (water) here. This is my favorite one.

Joe: He wants you to keep speaking in English, and he’ll keep speaking in English so he can get better. He wants to describe the picture in English.

Lemmy: This is my favorite because I like to see the bush and the water. I like everyone in this picture: the horse, some trees, the water, the elephant.

Joe: Holly, what do you call this one?

Me: It’s a mongoose.

Lemmy: Oh! I know it!

Joe: He is saying he has seen it before.

Lemmy: At Munda Wanga [a park/zoo near Lusaka]! I saw him about 10 times at Munda Wanga.

Me: Nice! I like Munda Wanga.

Lemmy: Mumbwe!

Joe: That's "hyena" in Bemba. In Nyanja, it’s chimbwe.

Lemmy: This one, he behaves like a dog. I’ve seen this one. In Luapula [in Zambia]. I hear them cry in the night.



Me: Let me get you a couple more books with some animals from Africa.
(Wild at Heart, an excellent photography book by Peter Godwin and Chris Johns)

Lemmy: Ah, he’s a witch! [Pointing at photo of bushman Klaas Kruiper outside his hut in Molapo, SA…research names and places.]

Me: why do you think he is a witch?

Lemmy: He’s doing witchcraft.


Joe: Will you read about this picture?

Me: turns out that he forsaw his own death and…

Joe: Hyenas again!

Lemmy: Traditional ceremony. That’s a green snake.

Me: Zama Zama, South Africa. They are training to be witch doctors.

Joe: In SA, there are so many traditional ceremonies. Different ones. Lots of dancing. In Zambia, there are also many ceremonies. Chief Mpezeni in Eastern Province, he has a nice one.

Joe: Look at this man. Why do so many people like to drink alcohol, Holly?

Lemmy: Zulu dancers. Shaka Zulu! History from long time ago in South Africa.

Me: Zulu warriors.

Joe: Yes. Maybe here we have a book on Shaka Zulu.

Me: Let me check…

Lemmy: I am too tired. (goes to sleep)

Me: This is a nice book. It’s about African Queens. I know Shaka was a guy, but take a look at it. I think you might find something. (Book: In Praise of Black Women by Simone Schwarz-Bart and Andre Schwarz-Bart)

Joe: Holly! Here in this book is Nandi. She is the mother for Shaka!

Me: Yes! That’s what I was going to show you! There are great paintings and photographs and even some songs along with the history. The history of Shaka himself is included here, so that’s all you need.

Joe: Can you read some of it to me?

Me: Yep.



















Lemmy and Joe.

The Nicest Person in America

I arrived at the library with a box of new books for the library, and one of them is the stunning portrait of Obama's life as a child called Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier. Being very familiar with their wonderful work in children's literature, its excellence was not surprising. It was the illuminating messages behind daringly somber content that struck me. The book touches on sensitive issues faced by Lubuto users such as begging to survive and parental abandonment. Naturally, I called an impromptu story time (with the help of a social worker's translations). The book was in high demand for the rest of the day and paged through in large groups.

Tendai took the book after the story time and started chanting "O-BA-MA!":





















Then "Kiss Brown" (formerly known as "The Undertaker") joined him:



















Then more joined, and the chanting continued!:
















Bob is Kenyan and was very proud today. He also happened to be sporting the perfect t-shirt:





















I asked the group for a few comments, and here's what they had to say:

Tendai: Ah, he’s a good president. Every other president is fake.

"Kiss Brown" (aka "The Undertaker"): Obama is the best man of the United States of America. His dream will come true, to improve the United States. Mr. George W. Bush, we will drop him in water.

Joseph: I’m proud because he’s black. He promised that the school fees for courses will be low, so even if you are African, you can go there and do some courses.

Mwamba: I’m very proud. He’s the first black person to be president. No one thought a black man could be president. It makes me feel more accepted by Americans.

Joseph aka "Don Lover": He’s the president!

Jacob: I’m very proud because a long time ago it was not allowed. (translated from nyanja)

Tendai (again): I’m very happy that Obama is president because he’s black and things will change. (translated from nyanja) O-BA-MA! I hope that Obama is also good for free food. Free food! Enjoy!

Gordon: I like him because he’s black.

Enock: Obama is a good president because he can be helping people who need free food.

Junior Augusten: He is very nice.

Tendai: Free maize to eat.

Benson: I like him because he’s black like us.

Steven: Obama, he’s kind. What I see when I look at him is someone who knows how to work with people. He doesn’t have to say, ‘This is a white man” or “This is a black man” because they’re just one, united like the United States.

Thomas: Go and tell George Bush that he’s too ugly.

Tendai: Obama is a good president because he’s a black president, and I’m black.

Steven: There will be no more doubting if we go to America. We can just walk in.

Tendai: Free food for good health.

Levy: If you go back to America, you have to greet him and say that Zambian people love him. We want to finish school, and we don’t know if we can be the president or a doctor or what what. We want to be like Obama, and we are happy he is the president. Tell him the Fountain of Hope greets him.

Gordon: He’s a good person, and I like him so much.

Enock: I am happy because Barack Obama is a good president of America. He doesn’t have a short temper because he likes people. Some people, they don’t like him, but us, we like him.

Michael: Obama, he’s the best president. People, they are proud of him and can’t be jealous. He’s a good person and can help people. We are proud of him! He is the nicest person in America.

It was our celebration of a moment that was perfectly summarized by my Zambian friend, who said, "The whole world is happy today!"

In Memory of Natalie

While I was away from Lusaka visiting my friend in Cape Town, South Africa, a Fountain of Hope grade seven student and frequent library patron named Natalie, known to friends as Natty, passed away.

The day I arrived back in Zambia, the Zambian news on TV reported from Misisi Compound on the fence being constructed around the nearby dam after many drownings. Natalie was the youngest person to perish.

Yesterday morning, I met her parents and grandmother in Misisi Compound, and they handed me a frame containing two photos of Natalie. One photo eerily featured Natalie and a friend arm in arm on a rock along the dam, the place that took her life. The second photo taken in front of one of the large tree designs on either side of the Lubuto library door. I was chilled and then silent and then tearful and offered condolences.

Ni Cho Yipa! (What a terrible thing!)

Natty spent many afternoons in the library with her friends. She listened to a few of my stories, and we perused nature books together.

On behalf of Lubuto, I give deepest sympathies to her friends, classmates and family.

Human Rights Commission's Public Hearing for Violence Against Children

The second week of September, the Human Rights Commission in Lusaka held its inaugural Public Hearing for Violence Against Children. This public forum offered children and adults representing children a chance to voice their experiences enduring or bearing witness to human rights violations. On Wednesday, September 17th, four vulnerable children, all boys, arrived barefoot with a social worker to testify. One by one, they shared their experiences in front of the panel with the assistance of a translator. Vulnerable children in Zambia can usually speak some English, but those who have not entered school, particularly secondary school, have a difficult time communicating an entire story in English. After months, I am relatively familiar with life on the streets of Lusaka, so I had some understanding of the actions they described and recognized the names of places. Each child spoke for about twenty minutes and then answered questions from the panel. I was very impressed with their confidence and composure during the process.

The children were speaking “town Nyanja”, the most common language in Lusaka. It is an amalgam of several languages and is denoted as “town” to distinguish it from “deep Nyanja” - a slightly different dialect because it has not been cross-bred with other languages. Deep Nyanja is spoken in the Eastern province and also Malawi, and many of the kids who visit Lubuto know both town and deep Nyanja.

It surprises me how few foreigners in Zambia, aid workers or otherwise, bother to learn Zambian languages. It shocks children to hear their own language from non-Zambians, even non-Zambians who are living here for the sole purpose of helping them. I am a bit puzzled about it all, although I suppose I have a key advantage. It’s possible to learn Zambian languages only if Zambians are willing to hold your hand through the learning process. I literally have Zambians holding my hand during it! [note: I admit to knowing very little thus far.]

These are kids who would like the library. They’re kids who like to laugh. They’re kids who might happen to know my friend, John. What a coincidence! These are kids who would like the Zambian folktale from Northwestern province as much as the kids at Lubuto did when I read it to them. Maybe they’d eat nshima and beans with me at lunch. If the kids at Fountain of Hope are any indication, they would address me as “Hollywood” or “the Holly Grail”.

On the street, children form groups identified by the location around which they convene. Matthews, Abraham, and Gift are part of the City Market group a boy named Jonathan, who visits the library and returns to the street, is also from City Market. Last week, Jonathan drew me a map of the street near City Market where he begs for money during the day and asked me to visit him.

After the children were seated in the audience, I tried to maintain their level of confidence and composure and approached them.

Bwanji! Hello, how are you?

Zina langa ndine Holly. Nicokela ku America ku New York. My name is Holly. I’m from New York in America.

Cha bwino kuzibana. It’s nice to meet you.

Msebenza ku Lubuto Library ku Fountain of Hope. I work at Lubuto Library at the Fountain of Hope.

Nipuzila chi Nyanja, nikululukile. I’m learning Nyanja, sorry!

They laughed with disbelief and amusement. I read the looks on their faces as, “who is this crazy mazungu?”. [Mazungu means white person. I hear it approximately ten times a day.]


I asked them, “Hey, do you guys know Jonathan Masando from City Market?”

And they do. “John? You know John?!”

I pulled a colorful Lubuto newsletter and pamphlet from my folder. They identified the large photo of the library as Fountain of Hope. “Yes,” I agreed, “but this is the Lubuto Library inside the Fountain of Hope,” and pointed to a picture of some kids reading.

There I was, in the middle of a Human Rights Commission public hearing, making casual conversation just as I would at any social function with victims of the human rights violations that incited the hearing. It should have been a surreal moment, but it wasn’t. Perhaps it seems as if I’ve been desensitized, but that’s not the case. For me, the moment signified success.

It's not possible to help vulnerable children without becoming a part of their world. Only then is it possible to present obstacles to be overcome rather than impersonally impose solutions.

While the kids at Fountain of Hope are so fortunate to have the Lubuto library at their disposal, meeting these kids reminded me that more and more children will share the privilege as new Lubuto libraries are constructed.

Within Lusaka, there are plans for three new Lubuto libraries in Garden Compound, Kabulonga, and Lusaka West.

Introducing Barack Obama

Trevor supported Hillary Clinton and was disappointed when Democrats nominated Barack Obama. He didn't know much about Obama. If I haven't made it clear before, books are scarce and expensive in Zambia and the nearest public library is a day's drive away. When two copies of a short biography called Barack Obama: An American Story by Roberta Edwards arrived at Lubuto, I was nothing short of elated. Trevor read the book right away, and we discussed it a bit.

me: You weren't sure if Obama would make a good president the last time we talked about politics in the States.

Trevor: I didn't know much about him, but after reading this book, I know that he is smart because he started trying a long time ago and looked forward. He was speaking for those people who were uncomfortable in America, not only blacks but whites, too. He searched for what the people were thinking. He cared about people.

me: Is he different than Bush?

Trevor: Yes because where Bush makes mistakes, he [Obama] cares about what he's saying and doing. Bush cares about what he's saying most. He cares only about America, but Obama cares for the people themselves. Even the soldiers in Iraq, he said he will withdraw them if he is elected so Iraq can be free. He helps others, not just America.

me: Do you know about the person running against Obama?

Trevor: A white man. Mack?

me: Close. McCain.

Trevor: I heard from BBC radio that he was saying his medical check-up was okay so 'vote for me'!

me: Excuse me... [laughs] [laughs more] What do you think about America nominating an African-American?

Trevor: The African-Americans have suffered a lot, you know? Obama, he is not really an African-American because he has a white mother. He is both black and white.

me: Why is that important to you?

Trevor: If Barack Obama was a full African-American they wouldn't like him. He's colored so he has a chance.

me: I think the same people who wouldn't like him for being a full African-American don't like him now for being half. Do you know what I mean?

Trevor: No, I don't think you're right...His father left him, you know. Obama once visited Africa and he went to Indonesia where his stepfather took his mother.

me: What do you think about that?

Trevor: No wonder he wanted to help people, he saw what was lacking because he was not in a good situation himself. His father left him with his mom. He saw the flats that maybe had no water pipes, no toilets...just like in Misisi [the compound where Trevor lives]. He wanted to allow more people to express themselves, even those people. In short, he is a voice for the voiceless.

me: Would you vote for him if you could?

Trevor: Yeah. Yes, sure. I see potential for him to do wonders. He sees not what people are doing now, but where they are coming from and where they're going.

Captain Steven

Steven Siame

Steven is one of Fountain of Hope's great success stories. He was able to conquer substance abuse he developed while living on the street, and today he is attending secondary school and receiving very high grades. He is also one of the most charismatic people I've ever met. He listens to my iPod almost everyday, and his new favorite band is Radio Dept. He also likes M.I.A. and Depeche Mode a lot.

What is your position at Fountain of Hope?

I'm a captain. I am the person to set an example for the new kids who arrive from the streets. When they see me, they start to believe they can change.

Do they talk to you about it?

Yes, they say, 'Oh, Steven was living on the street, and now he's doing very well! Maybe I can change easily, too.'

Joseph and me are the two role models here. After the kids get to know us, they begin asking for advice. I was smoking on the street and stopped, so I say to them, 'It's not hard to stop. Just forget about it and do activities to keep busy. Concentrate on school, learn from your mistakes and use them to motivate yourself to change. Play football, play basketball. Just follow what I'm telling you and you'll be okay!'

Has it worked?

Yes, for many of them. I can even give you an example. Gift over there, he's changed [he was browsing the geography section]. He's now in grade 5. When he came here, he was confused. He asked, 'Why am I here? I can't get any money here. I should be out getting money!' [begging on the street] Then he asked me what to do, so I started advising him. I told him, 'If you finish school, all those things will follow you.'

Another example?

Morgan. As for him, he was here and then went back to the street. It was difficult for him because he liked money. He liked to buy things. He liked shoes, clothes, watches, what what. I told him, 'Here they will give you clothes and shoes if you ask for them, you will eat your meals for free and school is free. Just concentrate on getting better.' He was very happy about that and stayed. Now he's also in grade 5.

What school do you go to?

Ribala High. I don't have money for transport or a bicycle, so I get tired walking back and forth. But I really like the school, and it's important to me.

What do you want to do after graduation?

I would love to play football, of course. If that doesn't happen [laughs], I'd like to be an accountant because mathematics is my best subject.

"Too Rich for Any Man to Buy"

The new school session has been postponed due to the declared 21-day national mourning period for President Mwanawasa. Some kids from the shelter and the three girls pictured above who live in the surrounding neighborhood of Kamwala spent their would-be first day of school in the library. I asked the girls what they were reading which led to a discussion that was frankly shocking at first and drew a small crowd as the debate intensified.

When I lived in Harare, Zimbabwe, I spent time with girls from a nearby secondary boarding school next to my first residence. They were similar in their thirst for American pop culture, but I never heard any non-traditional statements about gender from them. I get the idea that things are beginning to change.

I recorded as much as I could, but unfortunately I can't transcribe much of it. Here's what I was able to get down.

The girls (from left): Ruth, 12, Mulala, 13 and Annie, 14

Books: Stanley and Livingstone: Expeditions Throughout Africa

Classic Fairy Tales


me: What are you reading?

Annie: I'm reading about African expeditions. This is the book our group worked with on Saturday.

(note: She's referring to a Saturday program offered at the library in which groups of four select books and present them to the class, usually as a skit.)


me: David Livingstone is a huge name in Zambia, of course. What do you think of him?


Annie: I like him because he was the first white man to reach Africa. I think he helped people to learn a lot. He helped the system of slavery. Some people hate him, but for those who understand what he did, they would not hate him...Here's a map of the ways he moved through Africa. He died in Africa but went back to Europe to be buried. He named the falls after Victoria, the Queen of England because she was in charge so it was out of respect.


me: How do you think Africa was different before he arrived?


Annie: They had their own system but they didn't have knowledge like in Europe. They were ignorant. Whites came to get slaves and often died because black people are stronger, so they survived. As for the white people, they knew slavery was bad. Black people thought trading people for goods was okay because they were ignorant.

People like from the United States, they didn't classify us as human beings. They thought only monkeys lived in Africa. It was sad.

me: So you're saying that white people were ignorant when it came to Africa, right?

Annie: Yes.

me: None of this makes you angry ?

Annie: No, because white people introduced technology and what was right and wrong.

(At this point, a few people came to listen and appeared upset by Annie's opinions.)

Mulala: You don't understand what you're saying, Annie. Zambians knew right from wrong. White people did some bad things to Africans. I don't know why you are saying this!

me: What do you mean by "what was right and wrong"?

Annie: Some came to explore rivers, mountains, deserts, the land. Morton, Speke, Park, men like this. Others came for missionary work. Let me explain them: they came to spread the word of God. They knew right from wrong. Africans did not know. Some Africans did not know slavery was wrong. In America, they opened plantations, that's where they took the slaves.

me: How do you think missionaries helped?

Annie: Because Africans put people in a big room if they did something wrong and exchanged them for things and gave them to whites as slaves. They didn't know right from wrong, you see.

me: So who taught you this?

Annie: My teacher at school.

me: This sounds like your teacher's opinion, doesn't it?

Annie: Yes, it's an opinion. Some agree, others think it's bad. Witchcraft was the culture before missionaries, and some people still practice it. It's used for selfish reasons sometimes.

me: So if you practice witchcraft, you don't know right from wrong?

Annie: No, it's just an opinion. It's doesn't mean they don't know right from wrong.

me: And it was around before missionaries, so maybe the missionaries didn't teach Africans right from wrong. Maybe Africans were not ignorant. Maybe Europeans, even missionaries, were ignorant themselves.

Annie: It was just a way of life. Maybe they were not ignorant.

(Now there was a small crowd of boys from the center listening to Annie.)

me: What about Colonial times? Sometimes Africans weren't treated fairly.

Annie: Yes, but if Africans weren't treated the way they were treated by Europeans, we wouldn't have education and other things.

Mulala: No, Annie! They took our minerals for themselves! They did not help us!

Annie: We benefited from it. We wouldn't have used those minerals, anyway.

Mulala: We did not benefit, Annie! Not until independence! Someone was faking you. We could have gotten something from it. Look at South Africa, which is a more developed country than Zambia. They were kept down by Apartheid and now they are free to develop their land. Slaves do not benefit from their owners!

(The crowd supported this statement with a few outbursts. I just slid into a corner with my pen and notebook.)

Annie: Slavery had advantages. One: slaves learned something. Slaves went to school.

Mulala: Annie! Slaves were NOT taken to school! They were sent to work for nothing. And for instance, say a slave went to United States and learned something maybe. Do you think they can come back to Zambia? They cannot!

Annie: Let's say Fountain of Hope is Africa and Kamwala High [School] is Europe. If they don't come to us, we learn nothing! Fountain of Hope needs Kamwala High School.

Mulala: The way it is now, many Europeans left Zambia and went back to Europe. Are you saying we are not learning now, without them? We are ignorant again in Zambia, Annie?

Annie: If Africa were left alone, we would be ignorant! We would not know God.

[from the crowd]: White people are not God!

The missionaries came with a bible and a gun, as they say. [laughs]


[The debate continued for some time, but Annie persisted with her ideas and it ended with "agree to disagree."]

Mulala: The white men, they have babies with Zambian women, but they never marry them! There was an Egyptian man who impregnated my cousin, but he didn't marry her. He went back to Egypt. Then she died, so we called him and he came to get his son who was five. He no longer calls us. According to me, it's wrong.

Annie: But they were lovers! It's okay because it's not allowed in Egypt.

Mulala: Maybe if she had gone to Egypt they would have killed her. She had another child, a daughter, who was half-Lebanese. They don't know who the father is, they just keep her here. My cousin was bad news! Okay, the Egyptian man thinks the girl is his child. She told us before she died. She needed him to send money for both children, so that is what she told him.

Annie: She had to lie to secure a future for her daughter.

me: How did she die?

Mulala: She was very sick. She was in her late twenties. Maybe malaria?

Mulala: I don't know if I would get involved with a white man now. It depends. The cultures are different, but some men are just good and some are not. Some would lie and tell me they would marry me but would not. Some men might accept the difference, some not. I would ask him first.

Annie: If a guy really likes a girl, he could lie and say it's okay but later say "no."

Ruth: Some people think that to keep a relationship, you have to follow what the guy wants. It's very bad, guys can be dangerous. They can try to control you. I'm very scared to love someone, get into a sexual relationship and find out he's [HIV] positive.

Mulala: Also, you could get pregnant. And then the guys can finish school, but you cannot.

me: Well, you can use...

Mulala: Condoms are not 100 percent.

Ruth: If someone is a prostitute, let's say, who's fault is it: the guy or the girl? Mualala says the girl.

Mulala: I did NOT say that, I said that the girl decides to do it.

Ruth: If no one went to prostitutes, no girls would become prostitutes.

me: Good point.

Mulala: We are called prostitutes if we do not follow the rules of dress here.

me: I know, I've experienced it. I didn't know dresses had to be below the knee, and I brought my summer dresses and some of them are above the knee. I don't know what to do! I wear this dress all the time.

Mulala: We can take you to the shops in Kamwala and help you find something. But it's not fair. If you buy a skirt, you must wear leggings under it. Then it's okay.

me: I bought a black skirt to my ankles that I feel kind of ridiculous in.

Mulala: I'm tired of these rules.

Mulala: Are these fairy tales true? Something in it?

me: You mean, are they based on true stories? Not exactly, no.

Mulala: Cinderella. It happens, so it's very interesting. The stepmother can treat you badly.

Annie: I've never come across any fairy godmothers. It's all lies.

Ruth: No, but the stepmother paying more attention to her daughters and not the stepdaughter can be true.

me: What do you think about Cinderella being saved by a rich man?

Mulala: That is not something good. In Zambia, many people think that will happen.

me: In America, many people think that will happen, too. I don't like the Cinderella story. I'll be honest.

Annie: As for me, I don't either. I think most rich people are mean, and they should marry rich people. A rich person and a poor person, that is not a good situation. It can bring bad things.

Mualala: We have a rich friend. She had a birthday party at a hotel, and her parents gave her a car and money. But her father is never around. He is in Tanzania or here or there. She has a driver because she's 13.

Ruth: She says, "I'm too hot to handle, too rich for any man to buy."

[Repeated by everyone a few times. I imagine this line refers to the dowry that remains as a standard procedure for marriage in Zambia.]

Ruth: Tell us: does true love exist?

me: Um...yes, of course it does.

all: No.

Mulala: In the movies it does, but it does not exist in life.

boy listening in: Yes, it does. You just do not know who is good and who is bad.

me: Do you guys want to take a walk?

Mulala: Yes, let's go.


I'm meeting these girls at the library again tomorrow. Mulala has texted me a few times to confirm. Excited to finally have some female friends at Lubuto!

President Mwanawasa's Death and American Leaders

Trevor, 18

Trevor spent years on the street before his stay at Fountain of Hope Shelter. From there, he was sponsored to attend a boarding school. He now lives independently in Misisi Compound in Lusaka, Zambia.

Two days ago, on August 19th, President Mwanawasa's death was announced, and Zambia is in a seven day mourning period. Trevor selected a book about American Presidents, and we discussed the late Zambian leader, American leaders and politics in both Zambia and the United States.

Books: Our Country's Presidents by Ann Bausum

Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African-American History Told by
Those Who Lived It edited by Herb Boyd: excerpt from Where Do We Go from Here? by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

me: What are your thoughts on President Mwanawasa's death?

Trevor: It's very sad. He was a good president because he brought democracy and fought corruption. He introduced departments to fight corruption. He helped change police force corruption by giving them higher salaries. In the past, the police collected money and let the criminals go. It will happens, but it happens less now.

me: Did the news inspire you to pick up this book?

Trevor: Yes. I really like JFK. I even saw a movie about him. His politics helped people, but he was killed in a car because of his politics. Opposition leaders wanted to take charge because President Kennedy was active.

This is like Mwanawasa. Some liked him, and some hated him because he offered something new. I can't tell if someone killed him or not. They say he collapsed at the African Union Summit, but they do not tell us how. Maybe someone put something in his water. By the time he was taken to the hospital, he was in a coma. I'm very very sad. I supported him.

In sub-Saharan Africa, if you can imagine, we are the only country with peace. No violence, no civil war. You go to Angola, Congo [DRC], Kenya, even Malawi in the past and South Africa where they don't like Zimbabweans, and they are killing people. Zambia is not that way.

me: Do you think Mwanawasa is like any of the presidents in this book?

Trevor: Maybe Clinton. I like Clinton. America has been in wars, like those introduced by President George W. Bush, but Clinton was a wise man and did not do the same. I thought his wife would have been wise. I don't know why she wasn't voted. I supported her. I don't know if Obama would be good.

Sata would not be a good president. He doesn't like foreigners, and that is bad. But I do not like the wages that foreigners give to Zambians. They are too low.

Where are you coming from?

me: New York City.

Trevor: Is New York the capital, as well? Or is it just Washington?

me: Ha! Just Washington.

[enter long conversation about New York.]

Trevor: Here is Bill Clinton. And here is Martin Luther King. Was he a prime minister? He was not a president.

me: No, he was a civil rights leader. Do you want to read about him? I can tell you about him, too, although I'm sure I don't remember everything!

Trevor: Yes! Please, where is it?

[after reading some of it]

Trevor: This is a very nice book. I will read the words of Martin Luther King.

[later in the day]

Trevor: I love this book. I knew some before, but now I know what he was doing in America. I like the statement by John Kenneth Galbraith. He said that if you could spend 35 billion dollars on the Vietnam War and 20 billion to send a man to the moon, why can't America spend something to get blacks back together? It's an interesting idea. I've benefited from American donors in terms of education. The doctors help develop the drugs for HIV/AIDS, and we depend on that help. America should help as much as they can.

Also, Martin Luther King talked about love. Not the romantic love. He said where there is love, there is no violence. You can't pull dark from darkness. You can't murder hate.

[long discussion following...]

me: Aren't you glad you read this today?

Trevor: Yeah, yeah. It explains a lot. Tomorrow I will read another one from this book. Maybe one per day.

me: Great! I'll be here again to discuss it with you.

Trevor: Shall we meet tomorrow, say 13 hours?

me: Okay, see you then!

Trevor: Look! There is one called "LL Cool J on rap."

me: That is hilarious. Let's read that one, too.

Tonga Village Visit

I had the incredible opportunity to visit a Tonga village in the Southern Province of Zambia with a friend who spent his childhood there. Singani village has not been exposed to missionaries or aid workers, so it was quite a culturally enriching experience.

I purchased a traditional chitenge to wear out of respect for their way of life. Chitenges are often worn in Lusaka, as well. I slept in a mud hut and participated in the rigorous daily tasks of the Tonga women, including fetching water from the well for cooking and bathing and carrying it on my head, attempting (and failing) to hold firewood on my head, selecting a live chicken and preparing it, sweeping around the huts in the morning amongst the guinea fowl, and preparing dinner around fires we built in the evening.

I learned a great deal about herbal remedies and even spoke to a local healer. One of the grandmothers and I were able to communicate through my friend's translation. She explained that slavery continued long after the government and historical texts reported its end. White tobacco farmers started a hybrid language called Chilungu Boy to speak to their workers, and she remarked that she wished I knew it. It was surreal to have someone imagine that I might speak a "language" born out of slavery. She also described the annihilation of game populations after rampant poaching, among other fascinating tales of Colonization's effect on village life.

I packed a book from the Lubuto collection with me. I was breaking the rules by removing a book from the library, but books simply do not exist in villages, and I couldn't resist the once in a lifetime chance to share a story with the children there. On the long, late, uncomfortable bus ride (a given in Africa), I had my friend translate the story to Tonga and help me with pronunciation. I made sure to select a story without Western references or aspects of modernity they wouldn't recognize.

The children loved the book, lingering on every word. There is a strong possibility their acute attention was due in part to my presence in general, but it was a Lubuto success nonetheless.

It was an honor to be welcomed in Singani village. I distributed much needed and seldom affordable products: bars of soap, Mealie Meal to make nshima, cooking oil, sugar...and some much appreciated Cadbury products, as well! I was presented with a pineapple from the gardens as a parting gift.

Below are two photos of the children's story time and two for the sake of cuteness.

The Streets at Night.

Vasco knows many of the children and young adults living on the street, and he makes weekly trips after dark to promote the Fountain of Hope shelter and the library. I went along last Wednesday to see life on the street for myself. Keesjan Husselman, a film student in Amsterdam who has lived and spent a great deal of time in Africa, was shooting a documentary on street children, and he came, too. We walked along train tracks through downtown Lusaka to the bus station where we met a group of young kids. Vasco introduced me to two of the kids who stay on the street but come to the library, and they came to my storytime. They told me they liked the Zambian folk tale from Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folk Tales, as they stood around tables outside shops. We left the bus station and headed to a dusty space concealed by concrete walls where many of the kids sleep at night. It can only be accessed through a small crawl space where a metal sheet was pried open. Next to an abandoned, rust-covered car are long, rectangular slabs of concrete, hollow inside and serving as sleeping areas. No one was around, so I was able to capture it on film:

I'm becoming accustomed to being the only female in dangerous situations, and Vasco thought we should skip the Soweto Market where the older kids convene at night. Of course, I insisted on going and assured him I would not take any photos. The market is crowded during the day, each wooden stand filled with vendors and their goods, but at night it's black and desolate, and we used lighters and cell phones to walk through it. In the back of the market next to an open field, we found the kids standing in groups, most near the bonfires they build in the last row of the market. They were very nice and respectful and not at all what I anticipated. Zambian music was playing, and I even danced along with a couple of them. Many escape the lure of street drugs, but many use an inhalant called Sticka, which is huffed from a bottle. A few kids holding bottles, eyes glazed over, approached me laughing and slurring "Madam" repeatedly. I was determined to get a few photos, hiding my camera underneath my hoodie and using the natural light setting. It was a foolish thing to do, and I'd been warned against it. I walked away from the group, aiming my camera at the groups gathered around the fires. Three kids followed me because they assumed I distanced myself out of fear.

"Why do you fear us?", one asked me.

"I don't fear you, I just wanted to look at the fires."

"No, you are scared of us! You see our suffering, and you are afraid."

In my defense, his friend said, "She is not scared, she is looking at the fire."

I covertly put my camera away and joined the group around the fires. There were probably forty of them altogether. Street kids form groups, and this group has a lot of respect for Vasco. It is dangerous at night, needless to say. Theft and violence against outsiders and within the street community are common. One kid unzipped Keesjan's backpack. He was from another group across the market, and this group decided they wanted to punish him for it. They have established a rapport of trust and friendship with Vasco, and an attempt to steal from Vasco's friend reflects poorly on them. Keesjan told them he forgave the guy for trying to steal, but we left shortly after that incident. I was filthy and shocked and left the market in silence. Millions of kids in sub-Saharan Africa live that way.

note: For respect and safety reasons, I took these photographs covertly using a natural light setting (with the exception of the photo of me in the car).

gathering on the street

inside their hidden area that houses their "beds"

the bonfires in the market

beds are on the right side along the wall

walking through the market

Lubuto artists

On Saturdays, people come from outside centers to use the facilities, and special programs are offered.

In the arts building, young artists worked on oil paintings although their instructor, a Zambian painter who also teaches art at the international school, is away for the next few weeks. I was amazed at the work of one student in particular, but they were all generally well done. I spoke to each student about their paintings and recorded their names, ages, their works' titles and anything else they wanted to add about their work, and I photographed them with their paintings and their paintings alone:

Robby Musole, age 18
lives in Kamwala, Lusaka
title: Makisha Ceremony, 2008

"I was born in the Western Province of Zambia where this ceremony is performed. I like the tradition."

note: The Makishu Ceremony is performed in the Western Province by the Losi tribe.




















David Mweene, age 17
lives in Kamwala, Lusaka
title: Mirror, 2008
























Bob Solache
tree and house scene, 2008
Kenyan and living at Fountain of Hope
note: Bob is hearing and speech impaired.



















Roy Chitwila, age 14
lives in Kamwala
title: Come and Drink, 2008


















John Mukoshachule, age 14
lives in Kamwala, Lusaka
title: Chopping Down Trees, 2008























On August 16th, the instructor returns, and I'm looking forward to finally meeting him after hearing about him and seeing the product of his teaching. With his approval, I'd like to develop an art history class to correspond with the Saturday lessons. I got the idea after sharing Andy Warhol: Prince of Pop by Jan Greenberg with Benson because he really loved it and wants to learn more about Basquiat. I asked the artists if they'd be interested and they were extremely enthusiastic about the idea. Let's hope I can pull something together that will be helpful. Lubuto is in need of a better art history collection, so I'm trying to get books from another library here to use. If only I packed another suitcase full of my heavy art books!

Mumbi: Library Employee

Mumbi
age: 12
grade: 6

me: Tell me something about yourself.

Mumbi: I live in Masauko in Lusaka. My grandmother wanted me to come to school here because she loves me and wanted me to get an education.

me: I heard you're the #1 student in your grade. How did you get perfect grades?

Mumbi: I concentrate in class, and I like learning very much. My favorite subject is English. I want to know how to speak English very well.

me: Uh, you DO speak English very well!

Mumbi: No, I don't.

me: How did you start working at the library?

Mumbi: They asked me to work in the library because I am number one, and they said they will pay my school fees. Here we only have grade 7, and then you have to pay.

me: Do you like working? What do you like about it?

Mumbi: Yes, I like it because this was the first library like this in Zambia. I like it very much.

me: What do you do when you're working?

Mumbi: I tell the boys and girls how to use the library. I help if someone does not know how to read. Some of them want to use the library but don't know how to read. Also, if they use a book, they can't put it back on the shelf. I tell them to put it in the basket.

me: You also help keep the statistics.

Mumbi: We want to know how many come to the library and where they come from, so I get them to sign in.

me: What is your favorite book?

Mumbi: Curious George because George wants to know everything. As for me, I want to be curious and do as he has done.

me: What do you think about working on my project?

Mumbi: I don't know, I just know that I help you! (laughs)

A Day in the Life of the Library

The Lubuto Library functions as any other library. The door is open, and kids come in and out at their leisure, often between classes at school. I thought I'd share a few of my interactions with the patrons. It was quite crowded today, and I usually end up spending a lot of time with one or a small group at a time because questions arise and new books need to be drawn into the mix.

A couple of boys were looking at a book from the Mammals section, and one pointed to a white snow fox in an Arctic setting and asked if I saw these in America. It's not hard to understand why snow is often very exciting to kids in Zambia. After a short conversation about climates and foxes, he pointed to a photo of the Matterhorn and asked if I'd been there. They thought it was Mt. Everest, which was a pretty good guess. I started telling them about Switzerland and my experiences there. They immediately wanted to know more about the Alps and Switzerland. I turned to the National Geographic atlas with lots of photos and cultural information. I'm glad I traveled in Europe and studied abroad in Rome because they wanted to hear any stories I had about Europe, which I shared and backed up with library resources. They were fascinated by the canals of Amsterdam and Venice, learned the story of the Berlin Wall, etc.

A small child with very limited English swooped in to take a look at the same atlas when the other boys left. It was frustrating at first because I was having trouble explaining anything to him, and he didn't seem to be learning anything. Suddenly, he pointed to the little UK flag inside the Figi flag and declared, "England!". From there, he turned to China. I identified China on a world map. He pointed to a picture of some people on the street, and I told him they were Chinese people. Much later, he turned to the "People" section, and identified a different and randomly placed picture of Chinese people as "China". Even with his limited English language skills, he learned something. It was great!

Joseph, Bob and Benson were reading a children's story. A little background: Benson moved from the streets to Fountain of Hope 5 months ago. He speaks 3 Zambian languages and very good English. He ALSO reads sign language and knows some signs. He picked it up because Bob, who is about my age and arrived from Kenya, is hearing impaired. Benson translates between Bob and me. Joseph, in his early to mid teens like Benson, is Zambian.

They were huddled around a book about The Great Depression called Potato. They hadn't heard of the Depression before, so I explained it to them. Laughing, Benson said, "So America then was like it is here now!"

I had the July issue of National Geographic with me and showed it to them.

We went through the cover article about the Congolese rebel forces who have targeted gorillas in Virungu National Park. Joseph knew a great deal about the situation there, as did Bob and Benson. The article addresses a particular rebel leader who claims to be protecting Tutsis from Hutu forces in the area. He's been accused of using child soldiers and committing other war crimes. I asked them if they knew about child soldiers, and they did. They knew everything. When they heard me mention Hutus, Joseph went into detail about the Rwandan genocide and described it to us. He told Benson and Bob about "the year 1994". I was amazed.

After the article, they requested more information on gorillas, so we went through a book called The Great Apes.

By the time their recess ended, we had covered The Great Depression, the political turmoil in the DRC, the Rwandan genocide, Ugandan schools, Dian Fossey's life, and Jane Goodall's research.

In the early afternoon, there was a power outage and the lights went out. Rather than leaving, everyone opened the windows and continued looking at books in the patches of sunlight on the library benches. Lubuto is definitely the place to be.

Lubuto Library Visit for SCECSAL Conference Attendees

The organized visit to Lubuto from the conference went well. Conference attendees had the choice of several local library/archives tours in the same time slot, but many people registered for Lubuto. Vasco, Eleni and I presented the information on Lubuto to the group, and it began as a more formal presentation structure quickly evolved into a question and answer session and then to an informal discussion. I liked the suggestion to document stories told by the children who use Lubuto in addition to documentation of Zambian stories for the purpose of cultural preservation. We introduced the student/library employees, and the visitors were delighted to meet young Zambians learning library operations and services.

The attendees themselves were an impressive and diverse group. There was an American librarian who did library development in Rwanda and is building a public library in Namibia as part of her doctoral studies. A librarian from the Africa and Middle East division of the Library of Congress. A British professor in information literacy. A man from the Ministry of Education in Zambia. Another American from UNC-Chapel Hill's collection development. I had the opportunity to discuss their careers and my plans for Lubuto and my career, and I will make an effort remain in contact with them. The tour made a positive impression on them, and I hope they shared their experience with their colleagues. If Lubuto had not inspired a colleague of mine to share her experience, I would never have been involved myself.

Vasco's Story

Vasco at the Misisi Compound

Vasco leads classes when they visit the library, manages all the kids, leads programs, recruits kids from the street...generally does everything and keeps the library running smoothly. He introduced me to everyone and everything here, and he also seems to know almost everyone in Lusaka somehow. He's 28-years-old and spent years living on the streets himself. I asked him a few questions to find out how he wound up working here at Lubuto:


Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Choma [in Zambia] in a village. There are thatched homes with no electricity, so you have to cook with firewood. There's no running water, so you have to fetch water from the stream and carry it back to your village by hand or on top of your head. There are a lot of snakes you have to watch out for. I lived with my father and stepmother there. They were farmers, and they farmed maize, pumpkin leaves, rape, pineapples, mangoes, guavas, sugarcane, bananas, green peppers, carrots, and so on, and I helped. The chief [of the village] who was there then is still there. He wears animal skins and uses a zebra tale to swat flies. People in the village practice witchcraft. Lots of people have a negative attitude towards witchcraft, so I don't want to say too much about it. I don't practice it. I'm a Christian...but I'm a Buddhist inside! [laughs]

How did you end up on the street?

My father died when I was about 12 or 14 or so, and things became very hard. We had a lot of things [before he died]: three tractors and animals, and people took them, so we were left with nothing. I started staying with some people who abused me, so I hopped on a train. I didn't pay. You do it by hiding in the toilet and keeping the door closed with your feet, so people try to use it and think it's out of order. I went to Livingstone [in Zambia at Victoria Falls] and then Kitwe in the copperbelt [the biggest mining industry in Zambia] then Ndola [Zambia] and then Lusaka. Seven years all together. Life on the street was really hard, and I ended up doing things I wasn't supposed to do.

How did you get off the street?

I almost committed suicide and was taken to the hospital. From the hospital they brought me here to the shelter. I lost hope in life and thought nobody cared for me or loved me. But I started going to school here and became the very first street kid to complete school in Lusaka. Life was really interesting at the shelter because I learned how to trust people again, respect people and their things and how to love again. I had lost all of that. I decided to dedicate my whole life to helping the street children because I've been there, and I believe that if I can change, other kids can change, too. The management asked me what I wanted to when I finished school, and that's what I told them. That was in 2004, but I was supposed to complete school in 1999. It was hard because my friends were completing their grade 12 exam while I was completing grade 7.

How about the Lubuto Library?

I liked reading a lot, so I decided to get really involved in the library.

SCECSAL Conference

I had been looking forward to SCECSAL (Standing Conference of Eastern, Central & Southern Africa Library and Information Association) for quite some time. I attended the ALA Conference (American Library Association) last summer in Washington, D.C., and I was curious about its African counterpart. It happened to be in Lusaka, which was very lucky for me because I wouldn't have been able to travel to another country had it been held elsewhere in Africa. The conference center is in the city, but there are groups of wild impala running through the parking lot and eating grass in front of the large windows. The opening ceremony was also distinctly African, highlighted by the Zambian dance troupe performing Zambian dances in sync with traditional drumming. A comparable opening ceremony at ALA would include what that might be typically American? Cheerleading? It was an interesting conference commencement that wouldn't translate in many other places.

Near the lobby of the conference center was a room with various booths: publishers, non-profit library organizations, etc. I talked to the EBSCO representative from their South Africa division and browsed the materials at the IFLA table next to Aluka. Aluka is a non-profit that digitizes academic materials including cultural objects for and about Africa. Now affiliated with JSTOR, it should be gaining momentum and covering more ground. Aluka provides free access for many African universities and institutions and makes these resources available to African scholars, anthropologists, historians among others. I have a background and interest in African art and culture, so it was serendipitous and potentially very useful.

During the tea break, I met a law librarian about my age from Zimbabwe who assured me that I could return to Harare. He was very nice, and I refrained from jokes about laws and Zimbabwe. He offered to arrange my trip (yes, hotels are still operating.) He told me it was completely safe as long as I didn't ask questions about politics in public and risk being labeled a journalist. I believe I'd be relatively safe as a white person in a city since the violence was mostly targeted at MDC supporters in rural areas, but there wouldn't be much to see there. I'm sure most people I knew are in South Africa, and I'm sure most places are empty. I just appreciated his optimism. Cool librarians are everywhere.

I had the opportunity to attend presentations and lectures, as well. I chose ICT in Information Science and Service because I did a great deal of research on ICTs and Zambian e-government resources for a class last spring. The presentations generally addressed strategies and initiatives to connect rural communities with technology. Similar topics appear again and again in library science, but the Gender and Marginalized Groups session's lectures were new to me and I learned a lot. Prof. J.R. Ikoja-Odongo from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda discussed the relevance of women farmers' information networks as viable contributions to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Unique to developing countries, I probably wouldn't have had exposure to this issue unless I was researching an adjoining topic. I wasn't expecting such a focus on rural communities although they comprise such a large percentage of the population in Africa. I guess I'm accustomed to a focus on urban areas, but it's hard to say whether it's a result of living in New York and working for an urban public library or Americans tend to leave rural areas out of the equation when it comes to addressing marginalized groups. The final presentation in the Gender and Marginalized Groups session was given by Naomy Mtanga, Prof. of Library Science at the University of Zambia, about Lubuto Library Project's contribution to MDGs for vulnerable children. There were tons of questions following her presentation, which I hope reflects the interest of professionals in sub-Saharan Africa. Most librarians at the conference are living and working in places where they've undoubtedly been exposed to vulnerable children. Their consideration for this topic comes with an understanding not shared by Westerners who have vague ideas about "poor African children", so the resulting discussion was informative and sharp.

I wish IFLA wasn't next month. I'll be here in Zambia, and the conference is in Montreal this year. It would be nice to see a few of these African librarians again. Last year, it was in Durban, South Africa, so I'm a year late in Africa and was a year early in North America. I'm about 8 or 9 hours from Durban in Lusaka and about the same from Montreal in New York. I should stop obsessing. I guess one convenient library conference locale per year is enough for me.


Aluka booth with Aluka's User Services Specialist Michael Gallagher:




IFLA booth (me):

Sheadrick: Lubuto Library Patron

Age: 12
Grade: 5
Hometown: Ndola, Zambia
Language: Bemba

Books: Creepy Crawlies by Hans Post and Irene Goede
Do Animals Go to School? by Steve Parker and Graham Rosewame

Lubuto Classification: Stories, Level 2

Short Interview:

Sheadrick: This is a grasshopper.

me: Yes, it is. Why do you want to read Creepy Crawlies?

Sheadrick: Because I can learn something in here. I'm learning to read, and these words are good for me.

me: Do you like bugs, too?

Sheadrick: Yes!!

me: Why do you want to learn to read?

Sheadrick: It is nice. All my friends outside know how to read. Some of them are 14, some of them 9 years. My friend is very good. She'll come here, and you'll meet her.

me: Good, I'd like to meet her. Which book is better, Creepy Crawlies or Do Animals Go to School?

Sheadrick: Creepy Crawlies.

me: Why is it better?

Sheadrick: Because I know more of the words.

me: Last question: who do you think would win in a fight, a grasshopper or a spider?...Stop laughing, I really want to know!

Sheadrick: A spider!

me: I knew it. But grasshoppers are cool, right?

Sheadrick: yes.

me: Can I take your picture? I'm going to put this on the internet. I'll show it to you when it's done.

Sheadrick: Yeah, sure.

Getting to Know Lubuto

My footsteps create little clouds of dust on the dirt roads in Kamwala, an area in Lusaka. It's the dry season, and each afternoon light winds bring giant clouds across the African sky. Even over the drab cityscape of Lusaka, the sky's size is commanding and dwarfs the skies of the American West, from what I can recall. Competing with the sky is the colorful stone wall of murals encompassing the Lubuto Library Project and adjacent Fountain of Hope school and shelter for vulnerable youth. The surrounding neighborhood is calm although steps away from the busy Kamwala market and shops. Above the occasional passing cars, the sound of children playing can be heard outside the stone wall.

The view from the road:



On my first day, I learned where the hundred or so children come from and why they're here. Many of them live in the Misisi compound which lies across a rocky, grassy field nearby. It's an impoverished area, plagued with cholera and other waterborne diseases in the rainy season when it floods. These kids attend school at the Fountain of Hope along with the kids at the shelter and some from Kamwala, too. Some of them reside in Kamwala but can afford to attend schools with better resources, so they stop in after school to play basketball and run around and read in the library. The children who stay at the shelter are mostly "street children" who have been successfully recruited from their rough lifestyles. Several kids, I'm told there are about 7 right now, who can often be found browsing the library, still live on the street and aren't ready to leave for various reasons: their group of friends become their family units, they are afraid to be drafted into the military if they're out in the open at a shelter, they want to continue selling and stealing, etc.

Playing outside:



For nearly everyone here, English is a second language and a general goal for them is becoming better at speaking and reading it. Nyanga, a Zambian language, is most widely spoken. Zambian languages Bemba and Tonga are also common here, and a few speak Lenje, too. Some speak Swahili because they've arrived from Tanzania or Kenya. A Tonga speaker, Emmanuel, gave me a Tonga name, Chipego, meaning "gift", but everyone calls me Holly.

Lubuto and Me: An Introduction.

I'm a student at Pratt Institute's School of Information and Library Science, and I have been working as a librarian trainee at Brooklyn Public Library since I began my studies in August 2006. l hope to finish in December 2008 upon completion of an independent study and a practicum addressing the Lubuto Library Project.

Last August, the Head of Collection Development at Brooklyn Public Library, Barbara Genco, attended the IFLA (The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) conference in Durban, South Africa where she met Jane Kinney Meyers, Lubuto Library Project's founder. Barbara returned from the conference and gave me information on Lubuto and put me in touch with Jane because she knew I had lived in Harare, Zimbabwe and had an interest in Africa. Jane Kinney Meyers and I began exchanging emails and having phone meetings on Lubuto's progress and future as a non-governmental organization. After discussion on my site visit and work at Lubuto, I applied for and received the Nasser Sharify Fellowship for International Librarianship and prepared for my stay in Lusaka, Zambia.

I met with Jane at Lubuto's headquarters in Washington, D.C. and visited the site where donated books are stored and processed according to Lubuto's classification system before they're shipped to Zambia. I selected a few books to pack in my suitcase and share with the children at Lubuto myself: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales, and I Live in Brooklyn by Mari Takabayashi. During my three months as a children's librarian, I read Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters to children at the Brownsville branch library in Brooklyn and everyone really enjoyed it. I chose I Live in Brooklyn for an obvious reason, however trite it may seem. Nelson Mandela's selected stories happened to coincide with his 90th birthday, too (I had no idea.) The last detail before my visit was, of course, to ship myself to Zambia, and here I am.

Doris Lessing, recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature, penned African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe, which was first published in 1992, an insightful non-fiction account of her experiences in Zimbabwe. It chronicles a country born with incredible obstacles struggling to find its balance. I decided to read it in light of the recent political turmoil and my own reflections on the country in 2003. I had the serendipitous fortune of discovering passages addressing books and libraries and children in Africa reflecting Lubuto's purpose and my personal goals, as well as providing a bit of inspiration:

'I have spoken to many different kinds of audiences in many countries, some of them, as we put it, disadvantaged. This is not the first time I say to young people who will never reach university that there are ways of learning open to them, and no one can stop them learning if they want to learn. With a library and perhaps some sympathetic adult to advise them, there is nothing in the world they cannot study. A good library...is a treasure house, and we take it for granted. It is possible to pick up a book, perhaps by chance, when you are a child, and find in it a world existing parallel to the one you live in, full of amazements and surprises and delights; you can pursue any interest through different countries and cultures, diving back into history and forward into the future; you can exhaust one interest and then find another, or, turning over books, chance on a subject you had never suspected existed-and follow that, with no idea when you begin where it will lead. With a library you are free, not confined by certainly temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one-but no one at all-can tell you what to read and when and how. '

Later in the book, she describes a library in need:

'There are rejects from better libraries, and among them might be books the children would enjoy, but no attempt is made to differentiate between them. Perhaps the idea is, better any books than none at all. But there is such a hunger for books, for advice about books, in this country...Books remain as influential as they ever were, in countries like Zimbabwe. It is not possible to exaggerate the influence of books, even one book. Dambudzo Marechera, author of House of Hunger, described how...he found a thrown-out Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia. It changed his life.'

I identified these passages with what solutions to these problems I already knew Lubuto had addressed:

1. Lubuto provides an organized collection of books filtered through a collection development plan rather than the disorganized piles of discards from the Western world that Africa often receives.

2. Lubuto provides access to books and information for vulnerable children, some of whom live on the streets and without the luxury of school.

3. Lubuto provides guidance by volunteers and staff, on-hand to assist with book selection and read-alouds, in addition helping liaise content to children with insufficient literacy skills.

Now I can identify them with my own personal interaction with the Lubuto Library patrons, rendering the passages all too true.