Library and Media Centers

Village schools hardly ever have electricity or lighting.  But we quickly learned that books are a rarity in Malawi and libraries are non-existent. Schools typically have no textbooks; even most teachers do not have books from which to teach. And finally, churches in remote villages seldom have Bibles, sometimes not even the pastors! It is not difficult to understand that without access to books, the value of reading and school education is reduced, particularly in the eyes of the students. Without the insight books can hold of an outside world and the visions that can be created to initiate the concept of what else exists beyond their so limited experience, how can change even be imagined?

What is a book to a child living in the poorest of countries?  Who has never traveled beyond their isolated village? Has never looked through a book?  Will they discover something new?  Will books ignite hope for change?  To create hope, a vision of the possible is needed.

It is a saying in Malawi that if you want to hide something from a person, you should put it in a book, because they will never find it.

The Need