Well, I have finally begun my last big project in Uganda! I
have around 8 months left to go before I finish my service so it is now crunch
time. This project is one that I wanted to do within my village since I
arrived. I remember when I first got to my site my Ugandan supervisor, Solomon,
mentioned that if I wanted to hide information in Africa just put it into a
book. That statement was so disappointing to hear because reading is so
important and it is one of my passions. I love getting lost in my books to
escape reality and image myself in a completely different world.
So my project involves building a community library for
Engari but using recycled plastic bottles inside the walls instead of bricks.
This project has a lot of components with one of the obvious ones being using
recycled plastic bottles. The main idea using the bottles is waste management
and educating the community on the importance of keeping the community clean as
well as the benefits of using plastic bottles for construction. Plastic bottles
for construction are cheap because they are free so cost-effective; they are
filled with rubbish found within the community so they are extremely
environmentally friendly; they are shock absorbent which is important since this
region of Uganda is prone to frequent tremors; they are sustainable since
rubbish is found everywhere because recycling is rarely done while the
remaining rubbish is thrown on the ground or burned.
Another component of this project is community involvement.
This project is promoting volunteerism and community participation with
collecting, filling and placing bottles into the wall of the library structure
as well as maintaining and running the library after completion. The purpose of
so much community involvement is for the community to take ownership and pride
of their community library with the hope that it will continue to run and be
maintained long after I have left. Also, volunteering in this country usually
means people are still getting some sort of facilitation whether it is for
travel or food but it is often expected. I’m trying to show the community the
benefits of volunteer for completely free. I think what will help, especially
the youth, with this aspect is that I’m going to offer the opportunity for
secondary school students to volunteer after school and help with leading the
book clubs, book readings, and teaching the primary students how to read.
My hope is that Engari community members will become curious
with increasing interest in reading and someday develop into a reading culture.
Kind of a big dream but I think if people at least have access to a wide range
of reading materials some community members are bound to take advantage of
these resources. Hopefully it will cause a chain reaction of curiosity and
interest among community members.
Okay onto the real issue at hand. Through Peace Corps I am
able to apply for grants for a certain amount of money. While using bottle
bricks are cost-effective there are still A LOT of other materials needed to
construct a sturdy long lasting structure and since my village is fairly rural
it is more expensive to transport materials. Unfortunately my grant is only
going to cover the costs needed to construct the library structure. Since books
are kind of the whole point of building the structure I really need as much
help as I can get!
I have created a way
for amazing people to donate money and books for the library! If you are
interested in helping this truly wonderful community gain access to a library filled
with reading materials filled with information from around the world then take
a look at this website:
http://www.gofundme.com/51x6h0. Also, if you know of
anyone that may be interested in donating money or books please send them the link
as well.
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| The future site for the library |
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| Educating the secondary students about waste management and keeping their community clean as well as the importance of volunteering. The hope is for the students to help collect plastic bottles from around their community for the library structure. |
