Alidou Boué nous écrit:
Le jeudi 25 j’ai effectué une sortie à Boni pour ramener les masques que j’avais donné à Bondé Yacouba pour peindre. A l’arrivée, j’ai trouvé que les masques étaient peints et au nombre c’est à dire 20 masques. C’est un travail qui a coûté 25000F. Les masques ont été ensuite transportés par un car en direction de Koho où je les réceptionné à la bibliothèque leur placement sur le mur.
Le centre multimédia de Houndé (CMH), a tenu les 27 et 28 juillet 2019 un atelier sur les illustrations. C’est Michel Gama ; artiste illustrateur et peintre qui apporté son expérience à six jeunes, ressortissants de la province du Tuy précisément à Houndé et Dohoun. Pendant deux jours ces jeunes talents ce sont enrichit par de nouvelles techniques en dessins. Ils ont également reçu les encouragements et beaucoup de témoignages de la part du formateur pour montrer que le métier de dessin nourrit son ombre.
Dans le cadre de ses activités de promotion des bibliothèques et de la lecture, l’équipe de FAVL-BF composée du représentant national et de l’animateur Boué Alidou ont rencontré le SG de la mairie de Houndé le 22 juillet 2019. Au menu des échanges, ils ont abordé la question de la finalisation de la signature de la convention de partenariat entre la commune de Houndé, l’association amis des bibliothèques de villages africains et la mine Houndé Opération Gold (HGO S.A) pour la mise d’une bibliothèque communautaire et l’ouverture d’une bibliothèque communautaire à Koho dans la commune de Houndé. L’équipe de FAVL-BF a fait le bilan de la confection des meubles qu’elle vienne d’achever. Sur la question de la signature de la convention par les parties prenantes, le SG dit que les choses avancent bien. Il a transmis dite au responsable de HGO S.A pour signature. Un rappel a été fait afin d’accélérer la signature. Ils ont discuté du processus de recrutement du gérant et tous sont convenus de la méthode. Aussi, le SG a demandé un peu de patience le temps de rencontrer le contrôleur financier et avoir son approbation sur la question de la prise en charge du gérant dans le budget communal. Ensemble, ils se sont donnés des idées pour que la bibliothèque soit ouverte et opérationnelle avant la rentrée scolaire. L’équipe de FAVL-BF a remercié et encouragé le SG de la mairie pour les efforts consentis pour cette belle initiative.
Le 20 juillet dernier, le président du comité villageois de développement (CVD) de Koho et moi, avons visité la future bibliothèque communautaire dudit village situé dans la commune de Houndé. Notre satisfaction fut générale lorsque nous avons trouvé au sein du bâtiment des meubles bien confectionnés avec plusieurs couleurs différentes. En plus, le groupement des femmes du village informé de la bonne nouvelle de la bibliothèque se sont mobilisées pour venir nettoyer proprement le bâtiment. Le président du CVD continu d’informer, de mobiliser et de sensibiliser les populations pour la bonne marche de la bibliothèque. Il a été réconforté lorsqu’il a appris que FAVL et mairie s’activent pour l’ouverture de la bibliothèque avant la rentrée scolaire.
La bibliothèque de Koumbia rouverte en juin 2019 a reçu en fin de semaine passée un lot de quarante livres pour enfants. Composés essentiellement de livres photos produits par FAVL, de livres du centre multimédia et d’auteurs africains, ils serviront à renforcer non seulement le fonds documentaire de la bibliothèque mais aussi à donner le goût de la lecture aux enfants. Pour le gérant de ladite, ce geste salutaire contribuera positivement à améliorer la fréquentation de la bibliothèque et les sorties de livres.
The FAVL Burkina team has been preparing the library in Koho, in Tuy province. In cooperation with the mayor of Houndé and Houndé Gold. Here are some pictures of the furniture made for the library. Several hundred books have been purchased and shipped, and we are looking forward to opening for the new school year in October.
Le centre multimédia de Houndé multiplie ses activités de renforcement des capacités au bénéfice des populations. Il a tenu pendant la période du 19 au 20 juillet 2019 une seconde formation d’initiation à l’outil informatique avec 10 filles de la province du Tuy notamment : Houndé, Karaba, Dohoun et Sara. Pendant deux jours, ces filles ont bénéficié d’un apprentissage sur les éléments de bases d’un ordinateur. Elles sont parties avec un grand sentiment de joie parce qu’elles ont acquis une bonne performance et pour une première fois de toucher à l’ordinateur.
CESRUD/FAVL Ghana Community Libraries have scheduled this year’s Vacation Reading Classes to start on the 5th of August 2019 and end in the first week of September 2019.
Basic schools pupils will be finishing classes the 25th of July 2019. They will rest for a week after their vacation, the reading classes will begin in all the three community libraries a week and some few days after after the break from schools. The librarians and the libraries coordinator together with some volunteers will be handling the reading classes. We are thinking of inviting some elderly people in our respective communities once in every week to share with participants storytelling, the young ones will also be given the opportunity to ask questions about things of old that they only heard with their ears and get better understanding. Posters notifying the classes have been posted and some sent to the school library teachers to announce to their pupils about the reading classes.
Some photos from the training that was taking place today July 19. Also, Sanou Dounko brought down from Ouagadougou two computers from the FAVL office, to be used in the CMH. Thank you Rotary International and Rotary Ouaga Savance for supporting this, and GlobalGiving donors.
This week’s Library’s attendance continued on the rise as basic pupils are in the peak of their third term exams. The respective libraries are well patronised during the daily and night sessions of operations. I had for a number of times this week visited the respectively community libraries both daily and night and monitored how reading and other library activities were carried out.
At the Sumbrungu Community Library, students/pupils from different basic schools visited the library and revised notes taken from schools in preparation for their next papers, others also read story books. The daily sessions is always well patronised by pupils of St. Charles Lwanga primary and Junior High School (JHS), Kulbia Primary school and Kolgo JHS during the daily session, these schools are the surrounding to the library. The Polytechnic students are on vacation now. Students/pupils from the distance schools visited the library in their good number during the night sessions. I paid a visit to some schools to wish pupils well and also see how the students are writing their exams, each class I entered the atmosphere is always quiet with each student busily focused on his/her exam question paper and answer sheet. The arrangements was very interesting as some were sitting on the floor, others sat two per desk, and some; one desk per pupil, their teachers were around ensuring that everything goes on well.
At the Sherigu Community Library, attendance to the library was very good. Pupils from St. Peter and Paul are the frequent visitors to the Library during the daily sessions. The pupils also use the library as the convenient place to revised the notes and read other school books in the library in preparation for their next exams papers. During the evening’s sessions, students/pupils from the vicinity visited the library and read books. Some private students who will be writing their exams come September also used the library to prepare themselves well. The librarian is doing a good job by keeping the library tidy and serene for all the library activities.
At the Gowrie-Kunkua Community Library, patronage to the library has also been quite well. Pupils from the Kunkua Primary and JHS are also the most user of the library during the daily sessions. Other library users patronised well during the evening sessions. There have not been a lot of reading activities due to the ongoing third term examinations.
Prof. the respective community libraries have been running quite well both daily and the night. We are in the raining and farming session and so there are days rains do affect patronages save for such days or nights of rains, the attendance is great.
CESRUD/FAVL Ghana free vacation reading classes this year is scheduled to start from 5th August throughout to the first week of September. Basic pupils will be breaking from schools on 25th of July 2019 which falls on a Thursday. After vacation, the pupils will rest or help their parents with the farms for about a week and some days (26th July-2nd August 2019). The next week of August which is on the 5th, the one month reading classes will start in all the three community libraries. We are anticipating that this year’s vacation reading classes is going to be a unique one and we are sure of getting some volunteers who will be helping us during these classes. We want to focus much on reading of story books, storytelling (if possible we will be inviting some elderly people to come and share story telling with participant), games and other interesting library activities.
Some excerpts from Paul’s summary of the book: … The family house at Osu, have a beautiful garden where Kathy normally sit under one of the big trees with books in her basket from which she reads first to her three children, as this continues every Thursdays afternoon, some Ghanaian children started showing up to listen to Auntie Kathy read to her children. Kathy reading circles had begun to grow rapidly as Joanna Felih (a young lady who Kathy employed as a house help during their early days in Ghana) watched with amazement how the number of local Ghanaian children come to the garden every Thursday afternoon to listened to stories and singing. The children really love it. Madam Joanna was sometimes given the opportunity to share storytelling with the children. What started on a very small Thursday afternoon reading soon grow beyond Kathy’s imaginations… With the support Kathy received from family and friends back in Canada; more books and other materials were added to the library. The friends and family were very supportive that Kathy receives more donations of funds, she was thinking of what next to do, open a library and where? Next after the establishment of the Osu Children Library, was the Nima Maamobi Gale Community Library. Kathy used to drive through the Nima Kanda high way to send the children to school and pick them from school. As she passes to and from everyday, she noticed the sad plight of the people and children living in that Moslem dominated community …Kathy returned to Ghana and to Nima, after long search and asking she finally located Mallam Mansuru who listened to her attentively and directly that she should see one Agnes Amoah who was the assemblywoman for Nima. Kathy in presenting her story stated her wiliness to help the Nima people with a library hence her search for land. Agnes after listening to Kathy at last offered Kathy her piece of land with an abandon structure on it. Several tedious works took place before the place was finally turned into a befitting edifice suitable for library… At long last, the Nima Gale Maamobi Community Library was commission…. Reading through the first part of the book now understands that, indeed patience moves mountains. The persistent perseverance Auntie Kathy went through to bring the joy of reading to a generation of African children could not have been today if she did not persevere. I wished I had read this book before my first meeting with her in 2017, she deserves all the commendations.