Zoe has volunteered at Mary’s Little Lambs (MLL) in The Gambia twice before, in December 2023 and May 2024, with a focus on helping improve literacy.  Recognising that it would be so much easier to encourage a love of reading if the school had a proper library, she proposed going back for a third placement with the aim of establishing a library and teaching children and teachers how to use if effectively.

 The first thing was to arrange talks with Lisong and Michelle from MLL to make sure this was something they would like and to get their ideas on the kind of books they thought should be in the library, making sure they were culturally appropriate and pitched at the right level for the children’s reading skills.  Consideration also had to be given as to where the library could be located, and how to make sure the library would be well looked after and sustainable. 

Zoe also gave a lot of thought to where the books for the library could come from.  It was important that the books were of good quality and relevant to the children’s needs – she definitely did not want people to donate poor quality books they wanted to throw away!  She came up with the idea of creating a partnership between the school where she teaches in the UK and Mary’s Little Lambs.  Children at her own school already knew a lot about MLL from Zoe’s previous visits and were excited to donate books – not all children could afford to donate a book but many did – and some wrote messages in the book they donated to the children at MLL, explaining why they loved this book.  It is hoped that children from MLL will write their own messages back, when they have had time to read some of the books, creating a partnership between the two schools based on a love of reading.

More than 600 books were donated by the children at Zoe’s school, mostly fiction but also a few non-fiction, and some teachers donated reference and information books – this enabled her to ship 3 large boxes of book to MLL.  Zoe also had some cash donations, and on her arrival in the Gambia she and Michelle went to Timbooktoo (Gambia’s best bookshop) to buy around 200 more non-fiction books to supplement those that had been donated. Added to books that MLL already had, this enabled them to create a library of over 1000 books.

Zoe’s project donation was spent on shipping costs, and the books arrived at MLL in February – perfect timing for Zoe’s placement just a few weeks later.

In the meantime the teachers at MLL had given a lot of thought to the best location for the library.  They definitely did not want the books to be stored in cupboards or spread around the different classrooms – the idea was to create a resource centre at the heart of the school which would be a visible focus for the school’s learning.  To accommodate this, land was cleared, a new classroom was built, and an existing class moved into the new room, freeing up a good-sized room at the heart of the school to be used for the new library.  Donations from some of Zoe’s colleagues and her husband were used to pay a carpenter to build new bookshelves, and Zoe and the teachers excitedly unpacked, catalogued and sorted the books into age groups, creating a wonderful new resource centre for the school. They also bought a large rug, cushions, soft toys and floor puzzles, to create a reading area for younger children in the library.

Teachers then chose librarians from each class, who were trained by Zoe, and induction sessions were held for each class. 

 

An opening ceremony was held before Zoe left – all the children and staff attended and it was a lovely way to tie up her placement. Also, on her last day (also their last day of term), parents were invited into the school to collect their children’s report cards and also view the library. Zoe spent the morning giving parent tours, which meant that the parents could see what they’d done and how the library would benefit their children.

Zoe says: ‘I’m so happy with the way the library looks – everyone has worked so hard to put it together and it’s great to see it up and running now. I know it will benefit the children and teachers here and I’m very proud to have made this happen!’

And from Lisong: ‘The picture have said it all. I love what I have seen. It gives me goosebumps seeing the children use the Library.  Thanks Zoe from the bottom of my heart.  Our heartfelt thanks to your husband, your colleagues, friends and all the children that donated their books. We cherish this great library project.’

If you would like to find out more about volunteering at Mary’s Little Lambs take a look here or contact dianne@travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk