HELP ME BUILD A SCHOOL LIBRARY

Think back to your middle school and high school days. Think about how many of your friends and siblings ever failed a grade. In my case, I can count that number on one hand. Now, imagine a school where less than 50% of the students pass. This is the reality that I’m facing in my school in Orodara.

In the 2010-2011 school year, 48% of my students passed middle school and were able to continue to high school, and a shocking 24% of my students passed their senior year of high school! These numbers can be attributed to any number of things: extremely large class sizes, overworked and underpaid teachers, insufficient teacher training, or a lack of textbooks. Unfortunately, most of these things are problems that I do not have the ability to tackle, but luckily, there is one that I can: the lack of books.



Over the past year, I have spent countless hours in meetings with my administration, my teachers’ union, and my parents’ association to come up with a way we can solve this problem. The answer is to build a school library. This not only gives the students a way to claim ownership over their education, but it also gives the teachers new resources that were previously unavailable to them.

Currently, students spend hours of in-class time copying intricate biology diagrams, or complicated math equations. Now that students will have access to textbooks, this time can be better utilized. They can also do research, or simply read for fun. Teachers used outdated or incorrect textbooks for their lesson planning. For example, one history book says that America has 55 states. How can a developing country develop when they cannot even educate their own citizens? Education is the first and most critical step of development.



My school has been able to hire a librarian, delegate a student committee to deal with library problems, and put aside about $430 for books. In order to get this library up and running, I need your help! Your money will buy books, maps, shelves and tables. 100% of your money will go directly to the benefit of my students.

If you are interested in helping, please go to https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=686-162