PUKU.co.za

Zambian Lubuto Library Project Realises Education Vision

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 20 Jun 2011   |   

SUB-SAHARAN Africa faces serious social and economic challenges, yet none is greater than the devastation that the HIV/AIDS pandemic brings to the continent’s children.

As adults become sick and many die, vast numbers of young people are left without able caretakers, resources and without hope.

But in the heart of Lusaka is the Fountain of Hope where the Lubuto Library projects are providing safe and beautiful refuge that opens the world of learning to Africa and to some of Zambia’s vulnerable yet valuable children.

In buildings that faithfully reflect indigenous design, the Lubuto Library is a refuge of literacy, learning, self-expression and cultural enlightenment for the orphans and vulnerable children left out of schools.

June 2, will forever be remembered with fond memories by the less privileged lads at Lusaka’s Fountain of Hope, as the day was significant to them because the Lubuto Library project president Jane Meyers launched the ‘New literacy Tools for Zambia’ at the centre.

The project would definitely open many doors for the orphans and other vulnerable children whose single door was closed.

Located in Kamwala Township, Lubuto Libraries offers young people educational opportunities, fostering their intellectual and emotional development and participation in society.

At the first library opening ceremony in Lusaka, first republican president Kenneth Kaunda declared the initiative as “a brilliant idea,” a place to help vulnerable children “grow in knowledge and power.”

He described the library as a place where “we are still holding on to humanity.” Lubuto made significant progress in 2009 towards realising its vision for the libraries projects as centres for a range of educational enrichment opportunities for vulnerable children and youths in sub Saharan Africa, in enhancing knowledge.

The first library was opened at the Kamwala Fountain of Hope Foundation while construction of the second facility at the Ngwerere School in Lusaka’s Garden Township was completed in November 2010.

• Read complete article

Lubuto Library Project Opens Second Library in Zambia

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 27 Oct 2010   |   

About two weeks ago I had the pleasure of presenting our website Puku.co.za to many very interested and like-minded people at the UNISA Children’s Literature and Storytelling Conference in Pretoria. One of the people I got to talking to, who was very interested in the work we do at Puku was Jane Meyers. Jane briefed me about the Lubuto Library Project. Lubuto which means enlightenment and light in the Bemba language, is a project which aims to get the orphaned and street children of the streets and in the library, reading, learning and playing in a safe and educational environment.
One Library has already been up and running for awhile. Now the second and third libraries are soon to be completed. The second library will be launch on Wednesday 10th November at 16h00. The guest of honor will be Dr Kenneth K Kaunda who ‘will introduce innovative library services for Zambia’s most vulnerable youth’. The Launch will be at the Ngwerere Basic School, corner of Katima Mulilo and Garden Roads, Garden Compound, Lusaka.

The Lubuto Library Project® has reached a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Zambia naming Lubuto as the “national partner” in providing literacy and library services to Zambia’s orphans and vulnerable children in cooperation with the Zambian government and the nation’s network of educational institutions.
Lubuto is moving forward with its second and third libraries for children, planned for Lusaka’s Garden Compound and Nabukuyu, Zambia. This progress is due to the very generous support of Dow Jones and Company and its employees, Oprah’s Angel Network, Marilyn Hollinshead, and our other loyal donors. Design, construction and staffing details are being finalized and preparations made for groundbreaking at these sites. Additional sites and funding sources are being identified and work is underway to further expand the network of Lubuto libraries.

These are exciting times for Lubuto. However, our work is just beginning. To scale up and reach more children with our libraries and more programs, we continue to collect and organize books and to raise funds for present and planned libraries. You can help us to complete and sustain these libraries and future ones by organizing a book drive, raising or donating much-needed funds, volunteering with us to build and catalog book collections, or by starting a Lubuto Library club/support group at your high school, college or workplace.

It is Lubuto’s mission to serve orphans and vulnerable children and youth, giving them hope for their futures by enriching their lives and stimulating their imaginations now. Please help us in creating these safe havens and in bringing excellent library programs, services and spaces to these deserving children. Be a part of our excitement and success!

Lubuto is a word in the Bemba language, spoken in central Africa, that signifies knowledge, enlightenment and light.

The Lubuto project creates high quality, open-access libraries to serve Africa’s street kids and other vulnerable children and youth. The library provides a safe haven and an opening to the world beyond the bleak streets. Lubuto offers educational services and the simple pleasure of books and the arts for children who find themselves alone in the world. Giving the burgeoning numbers of street children the chances they deserve to develop their imaginations and to realize their potential is Lubuto’s challenge.

Lubuto’s highly professional organization, in the US and Zambia, does not work as an isolated charity. The sustainability of its program is ensured through partnership with government, community-based organizations, and professional groups, and Lubuto libraries are owned and run by Zambians.

• Visit Lubuto Library Project here

'Heroes' Creator Conspires For Good

by Bontle on 15 Jul 2010   |   

‘Conspiracy for Good’ is the first of its kind: an interactive storytelling experience brought to young readers by ‘Heroes’ creator Tim Kring, and Nokia. Fantasy meets reality as readers are immersed in a plot line, where they are the hero deciding the outcome of their story and making the world a better place.

Room to Read and the Pearson Foundation joined the list of real-life protagonists. Together with Nokia, Room to Read will establish five libraries in Zambia and also fund an education for 50 girls. The Pearson Foundation adds another element of good with the launch of We Give Books. Every time a site visitor reads an online children’s e-book, the foundation will donate a physical copy of the book to the new libraries in Zambia.

“I believe that storytelling has the power to create positive change in the world,” said Kring in a Nokia press release. “Audiences today want to be more involved in stories. Our goal with the Conspiracy For Good is to entice, engage, and inspire the audience to drive real-world change through their participation in a narrative.”

• Read the complete article at tonic

Kenyan and Zambian Schoolchildren Join Forces to Publish Ground-breaking Book

by Bontle on 06 Jul 2010   |   

250 learners from schools in Kenya have written and published a children’s book about Kenya’s Maasi tribe. The school children are selling the book to raise funds for teaching resources in Kenya. Students and tutors from the University of Central Lancashire have joined the Kenyan learners, providing help and expertise to the creation and publication of the book.

The book, entitled Letters to Africa, features a series of letters exchanged between schoolchildren from Lancashire, Kenya and Zambia who shared stories about their lives and cultures. It also includes a glossary of the Kenyan Maasai tribe language. This is believed to be the first time this has been recorded and written down.

It is being officially launched at the Harris Museum, when 11-year-old Farington Primary School pupil Jack Sagar will get a special prize for writing the best letter.

Also featured is information about Aids awareness sports projects delivered by UCLan students to children in Zambia.

• Read the complete article

Penguin Group and Pearson Foundation Launch the We Give Books Project to Donate One Million Books to Literacy Worldwide

by Bontle on 21 Apr 2010   |   

Penguin Group and the Pearson Foundation have announced the launch of ‘We Give Books’, a new digital initiative that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online. The free website gives parents, caregivers, and educators immediate access to a growing digital collection of Penguin Group’s classic children’s literature. For every book read online, the Pearson Foundation will donate a book to a child in partnership with one of the exemplary international literacy organizations they have partnered with.

This year, We Give Books will be providing books to young people in Africa through the organisation, Room to Read. The aim is to share 2,000 new children’s books with young people served by Room to Read in South Africa and Zambia. Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

• Visit their Website at We Give Books

Education Helping Zambian Children Beat Poverty

by Bontle on 30 Mar 2010   |   

Children in Zambia are using education to help better the fortunes of their families by increasing their literacy and numeracy skills. Faced with the harsh realities of poverty, these children hope to qualify for better jobs and secure more money when they start work. Various development organisations are helping children, especially girls, stay in school by providing assistance, mentoring, learning materials and books to the children, according to the BBC.

One such agency is Camfed, a non-profit set up in 1993 by UK-based Ann Cotton. Camfed started raising money by baking and selling cakes. in 2008, the organisation raised $11 million.

At Camfed partner high schools in Zambia, pregnancy rates fell by 9 percent between 2006 and 2008, compared to an increase of 38 percent in a control sample of schools through their healthcare activism programs. In Tanzania, schools supported by Camfed through the Safety Net Fund showed a 37 percent reduction in drop-out rates between 2005 and 2007. Camfed also works in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Ghana.

Since 1993, they have worked to help 1,065,710 children, providing scholarships for 42,184 girls to go to high school, training 4,068 teacher mentors and helping 769 young women go to university. Camfed focus on girls is particularly important in a country like Zambia where the prospects of girls are still very limited.

Education in Zambia is not free after Year 7, meaning that all 13-years-olds wishing to stay in school must have all their books, stationery and uniforms bought for theme by their parents; not to mention school fees.

However, of the families that could afford to send a child to school, it would largely be a boy rather than a girl.

Ms Cotton reveals that this is done to financial prospects rather than cultural trends.

• Read the Complete Article

• Read More about this Organisation

2007 Children's Peace Prize Winner Adds Writer to her Skills

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 06 Jan 2010   |   

Thandiwe grew up in a poor neighborhood of Lukasa, the capital of Zambia in Central Africa. When she was eight years old, her school was closed down for lack of teachers. Thandiwe led 60 children from her neighborhood in search of a new school. She garnered support from community and government officials for new school buildings and more land for classrooms. Seeing the disastrous effects AIDS on her community, she is also involved in HIV/AIDS education, talking to children and parents about HIV testing and taking children to get tested. She also co-wrote and illustrated a booklet for children called “The Chicken with AIDS” about the dangers of the disease.

• Read the complete article