"But the children love the books"

If you know me well, you know I am always down to quote lines from the movie Elf. If you haven't seen Elf, go watch it this instant. This post can wait. If you have seen it, remember that scene where the nun is talking to Walter and she ever so sweetly responds, “But the children love the books.”? Over the last year or so that we have been developing a library at our primary school, I would softly utter this line to myself for a little laugh or smile. And it’s true. The children DO love the books.

I've decided that the best way to describe our library project process is like trying to climb a steep mountain. In the snow. During an avalanche. And then you suddenly find yourself naked.

Sounds rough, eh? Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but I’m just trying to say that it was hard. Really hard. And I’m not just talking about for me. I’m talking about all the teachers, learners, friends, family, and community members that were on this journey too.

We were all in new territory when it came to starting a library. And only a few of us had ever seen one functioning. Personally, I only knew libraries in the context of the United States and obviously you can’t copy and paste that model to a school in South Africa.

We dreamed. We planned. We had meetings (wayyy too many meetings). And it still seemed like nothing was taking shape practically. It felt like this for months. I think this library project brought about the whole range of emotions for me: anger, joy, sadness, disappointment, anticipation, excitement. It was all there. It wasn’t until June when I suddenly looked around and realised, we did it. This IS a library. It didn’t happen overnight and it took a lot of grit from those who were invested to see it through. But we did it. That's something worth celebrating at least a little bit.

I suppose the purpose of this post is just to give you all a glimpse of the actual work I’ve been a part of at my school. It’s easier for me to post about the stuff God is doing internally. So by default that is the majority of what I share with you all. I’ve struggled to write about my work because I never know what to share and what to leave out. I worry about who I’m centring in the story and the way I represent my community and school knowing this blog might be the only contact some of you have with communities in South Africa.

I’ve even wrestled with the idea of simply deleting my blog all together and focusing on sharing my experience through conversations and continued communication. Maybe this is in part why I’ve been so silent on this platform the last several months. I have a lot I could say, but it’s been challenging to navigate the difference between what I want to say and what should be said.

With that, saying thank you is rarely inappropriate to do, so I think I’ll start there. Here is a little gratitude to the people who made our library possible:

1. Our principal

When I first arrived, my principal announced to the staff that before I go back to American there WILL be a library. My principal is a woman of her word, and I knew she meant what she said. If it weren’t for her firm confidence and request, the library may have never even started up.

2. The library committee

We’ve had our ups and downs as a committee as we fumbled in the dark trying to get our ideas to take shape. I am so grateful to the people that continued pushing for the library even when I was ready to give up. They put in the time to cover 500+ books and sit through tiring meetings as we drafted policies and procedure documents together.

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3. My parents, Mr. Marole, and my site mate

My parents came to visit back in December and they lovingly gave up their relaxation time to help with the library. We spent about 2 days sorting book, logging them, labelling them, and building shelves. They also brought 2 full suitcases of books to donate to our library which was a huge blessing! Mr. Marole is our school handy-man and he also showed up on the weekend with his own personal tools just to help with the construction and take down bulletin boards. He even went back to the library after I was on vacation to add the finishing edges to the shelves. And my site mate. I mean this girl has helped me through pretty much every aspect of service, so that deserves a whole huge thank you on its own. But in the context of the library, she was an emotional support through the whole process and she also gave up her vacation days to help stamp and sort all our books. Actually, she even took a box of books home to cover over the school holiday. Seriously, these people are super stars.

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4. Build It

The local home improvement store was very generous to us and donated some of the lumber for our shelves. They were also patient with me

when I paid with a bag full of coins...which I spilled on the ground. God bless Build it.

5. Darien Book Aid, Biblionef, and Rotary

These three organisations donated books to our library. A library without books really isn’t a library, so they deserve quite a giant thanks as well. A special shoutout to Biblionef, an organisation based in Cape Town that donates high quality, brand new books in all of South Africa’s home languages. It can be challenging to find literature in Sepedi, so our committee was especially grateful for their donation and passion for inclusive literacy across South Africa.

6. the School Governing Body (SGB)

The SGB is much like a school board. Made up of staff, parents, and community members, they essentially run the school. They prioritised library development financially and thanks to this we were able to invest in sprucing up our space and making it a welcoming, comfortable library for our school.

7. Learners

These kids are why we made the library, and they are who will keep it going. If they had no interest in reading, the project would really be quite a flop. Firstly, they were the ones who actually funded the shelves in the library when they paid to dress up in silly costumes at school on Halloween. Further, they are always eager to read new books and will even scarf down their food in less than 5 minutes so they can spend the rest of lunch time reading in the library. And I can’t forget our 16 library helpers (2 in each class). These kids literally run their 1 hour library class each week. It’s amazing to see their initiative and excitement followed by sincere responsibility. They are the best.

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Even though our library has come a long way from the 15 books we started with in cardboard boxes in my office, we still have a long way to go. Being that I am leaving is just 2 short months, there is a time crunch to pass on skills and responsibilities necessary to keep the library running. Further, we are still in need of more books to meet the growing school population and hopefully begin to allow younger learners to take books home as well. With that, here are few prayer requests for our library as we move forward:

A long term Librarian! There is a volunteer teacher at our school who is excited to take over as our school librarian this term. However, she is not certain she will be staying at our school much beyond this year. Pray for an additional person to show interest in learning the library ropes and sticking around long term.

Books: It’s great to see the books so well loved by our learners, but regular wear and tear is a bit expedited when a book goes through hundreds of hands in a month. Pray for the kids to quickly learn book handling skills (they are already doing great!) and that they wash their hands before reading. Silly I know, but it’s real people. Also pray for more books (especially Sepedi ones!) to make their way to our library.

Protection: Our school has unfortunately experienced a few burglaries over the last couple years. Pray for protection over the library and the whole school. What thief wants to steal books anyway?

Sustainability: We are all doing the best we can with what we have. I know my school wants this library to work but it is going to be quite difficult for it to continue in the years to come considering how overwhelmed and overworked everyone is already. Pray that staff and the learners would be able to prioritise a culture of reading at our school using the library as a resource in ways that best meet the school’s/learners' needs.

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Thanks for taking time to read this little update. Your prayers are appreciated and powerful.

Don’t forget: You have such a pretty face; you should be on a christmas card. Stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup! The best way to spread christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. And last but not least, I love you I love you I LOVE YOU!!!!

And if none of that made sense to you, seriously go watch Elf.

Love,

Elf Caitlin