Rwanda’s Mobile Libraries
The majority of Rwandan children are unable to access a library, so now in the Northwest part of the country the library goes to them. Project Life partnered with Agati Library to support their Mobile Library Program. Agati is able to pack up a vehicle with books and bring them outside their community library town. They travel further into the Virunga volcano region every weekend making stops at different schools where children are waiting for them to read. Project Life went along on a few of these mobile library events to see first hand what it is like. Library volunteers bring boxes of local children’s books. They play games, paint, read aloud and mentor the children’s enjoyment of storytelling. By encouraging the children to read to themselves and to read aloud to the group, these children are expanding their curiosity and confidence. Project Life believes readers are constantly learning new things with each turn of the page… the benefits can last a lifetime.
Five years ago, six young twenty year olds decided to make a community library in their hometown. Most had never stepped foot in a library or experienced the joy of reading. They heard about the benefits of literacy and wanted to make a space to provide opportunities to expand minds, strengthen creativity and grow curiosity and confidence.
With Project Life, they are running mobile library events on the weekends outside Musanze in northwest Rwanda. They are now able to reach children in rural areas in Nyakinama and around the Volcanoes National Park, home to the mountain gorillas.
Agati Library:
Musanze, Rwanda
Rwanda didn’t have a reading culture but because of young Rwandans like the Agati founders, today there are more opportunities for children to learn and grow through books. We hope the stories expand their imaginations and broaden minds.
