Lahcen Tighoula & the "Library on Wheels"
In early 2016, we sent a collection of books to a school in the Saharan Desert. It turned out that five schools in the region wanted to share the books, but the schools are too spread out to make that practical, as this is quite a remote area. So the teachers decided to make this collection a mobile library.
Each school has the list of books posted, and students or teachers can request a certain book. Three of the teachers are in charge of keeping the books and then delivering them to a school when people request. We love this creative collaboration, and it's an idea worth exploring for other remote areas too!
Here are a few words from Lahcen Tighoula, who managed this project:
"The mobile library was intended to be but a temporary solution, as we found it hard to get a permanent location for the books we received from Barb. Interestingly, the idea turned out to solve a problem: the books now circulate among the schools, and teachers collaborate in ways of using these books for different extensive reading activities. So students read various titles, and teachers learn ideas from each other! We are still looking for a location (we have a promise from a headmaster to grant us one), but the mobile library idea is so worth doing that the books probably won't stay still in one location. As a supervisor, I have noticed it makes teachers dynamic and community-oriented. So, we will have a fixed location, but the books will keep moving! Such a nice idea!"
These students are from one of the high schools benefitting from the mobile library. They painted and decorated this room for their new English club. That tree is made out of old plastic bottles.