A Great Start in Nianko – From Adelaide

I arrived in Niankorodougou on December 28th from Ouahigouya, Burkina’s dusty northern city and was immediately taken aback. As a Peace Corps Small Enterprise Development (SED) Volunteer, most of my time training had been spent in villages larger than 10,000 people. I had not had many experiences with the small communities that comprise Burkina’s myriad of 65 different ethnic groups. When I arrived in Nianko located in the southern, Jula and Sinafu dominated region, I was overwhelmed by not only the amount of green (of which I’ve been told only gets better), but also by the strong sense of community. Within my first week, I had been invited to several homes for dinner, met a wide range of village officials, and been introduced by those officials to local customs such as the “causerie” (fancy word for afternoon of catching up with family and friends).

 

Within my first month at site, it was easy to understand how the library continues to expand in members and projects… this strong sense of community is a big reason. The library is amazing. I cannot stress what a phenomenal impact it is having on the community, myself included. The library acts as a central location for all ages regardless of native tongue or reading level to congregate and interact. I owe a great part of the ease in my transition to the library which presents an ideal place for seeing new faces and interacting. For a country with one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, it is inspiring to see how much pride Niankorodougou has for its library and associated events. Before even entering, it is customary to greet the librarian, Moussa, with a salutation. Once inside, the library’s friendly environment encourages people to stay and read. The great news is that now the library won’t be the only place for readers to gather in Niankorodougou. We broke ground for the reading hanger the first week of the new year which was an excellent way to put yet another foot forward in increasing Niankorodougou’s literacy rate. Located directly adjacent to the library, the expansion can now host a slew of community activities including weekly story time. Also expanding is the book catalogue within the library. Brian Rhodes, Niankorodougou’s Girls Empowerment PC Volunteer donated two French children’s books along with a calendar full of pictures of readers all ages using the library and smiling and just this week, new books were purchased in Bobo-Dioulasso to help encourage next month’s school reading competition. Results from the new year’s first reading competition were very positive and these new book additions hope to spark even more interest in the months to come.

 

Building the library’s outdoor reading area

Our completed reading space!!!

And the Winners Are…

The month of November was previously designated as the reading competition month for the 6eme (equivalent of 6th grade) students in Niankorodougou. Moussa and I passed by all of the 6eme classrooms at the start of the month to announce details of the competition… all 6eme students were invited to participate by either sitting and reading at the library or by signing up as library members to take books home. Each student had a list of books they read. After finishing a book, students would return to the library and give Moussa a short summary of the story and characters and he would sign off on their reading list.

 

I am happy to announce the three top readers of the 6eme class. Drum roll please!

 

Moussa Ouattara

 

 

Coming in third place, Moussa Ouattara read six books. His favorite book was Le Fete du Lion. He liked reading about the lion who didn’t have any friends and was always alone.

 

Yasia Ganame

 

 

In second place, Yasia Ganame read seven books. His favorite book was Les Trois Jumeaux because it was a funny story about triplet brothers with the morale that you shouldn’t mock other people because you never knew what might happen to you.

 

Soumaila Ouattara

 

 

And our first place reader was Soumaila Ouattara with eight books. Soumaila preferred the book Afi et la Tambour Magique because it was interesting and had magic in it.

 

Each of these students received a notebook and ruler and were given stars on our “Reading Superstar” poster hanging in the library. The students were especially excited because the notebooks and rulers were sent from America.

 

All secondary students have break during the month of December, so we will be continuing the competition for the 5eme class (equivalent of 7th grade) in January.

Another Busy Month: November at a Glance

The month of November continued the trend for growing numbers of library members, visits and borrowed books. This past month we:

 

·         Signed up 40 new library members (34 students and 6 adults)

 

·         Had 348 books borrowed and

 

·         Had 2767 library visits!