Street Library launches nationwide book drive

Street Library has launched the country’s first nationwide book drive, an initiative to encourage donation of books to set up street libraries around the country.

Viasat1 TV, EMS and Ghana Post are supporting Street Library Ghana in undertaking the nationwide book drive initiative, taking place from January to June 2013. EMS offers free shipping of donated books from its offices in the regional capitals to Street Library Ghana.

The book drive is to encourage individuals, corporations, religious institutions and other bodies to donate children’s books, textbooks, novels or any other reading materials. Donations can be made individually or in bulk by a free-of-charge shipment from any post office addressed to Street Library Ghana, P.O. Box OF 75, Ofankor-Accra.

Street Library Ghana hopes to raise a sufficient book stock to roll out its literacy- enhancing programmes across more regions of Ghana, enabling children and youth frequent access to reading materials.

The book drive initiative will bring the street library programmes many steps closer to the team’s ambitious goal of raising one million books to establish 2,000 libraries benefitting more than 100,000 children across the country.

Street Library Ghana is an initiative by a social entrepreneur, Hayford Siaw, with seed funding from Reach for Change, a Sweden-based non-governmental organization, and telecommunication company Tigo. It aims at addressing Ghana’s severe literacy problem -- with a literacy rate estimated at 67.3% -- emanating from a lack of educational infrastructure and general difficulties in accessing reading materials.

Currently, the programme serves eight communities in the Akuapim South and Ga West Municipality by setting up a mobile library out of a book-stocked van. Street Library Ghana volunteers provide tutoring, mentoring and encouragement for the over 1,200 children enrolled in the programme.

In a second phase, volunteers – predominantly local teachers – will install a street library in their individual community three times per week. Each street library will be equipped with a local stock of books and a marquee providing shade and rain shelter for children to gather and read.

Street Library Ghana currently has three-year funding from Reach for Change and Millicom Ghana Ltd., operator of Tigo.

Tigo and Viasat1 also provided the programme with marquees to support the community roll-out. Collaboration with current partners and additional funding support are to enable Street Library Ghana to be rolled out across the whole nation.

Read Full Story