Little Free Libraries and Deechas Getting Ready to Travel to Ghana...in 7 Days

The Little Free Libraries & Deechas take a stop in New Hope, Minnesota to be repackaged for their plane flight to Ghana

An initiative within the 3rd phase of the Street Girls Aid project, the volunteer team (click here to learn more about the volunteer team )will be working on a multi-dimensional project including:

• literacy,
• vocational training and,
• library stewardship.

The literacy portion of the project includes purchasing/picking-up/bringing and delivering local culturally inclusive books in Accra from the Osu Children's Library Fund and the Ghana Book Trust in partnership with Books For Africa, Little Free Library ,our many donors and sponsors and using them to fill the libraries, providing access to books and literacy initiatives to the girls and their babies who live, work and sleep on the streets of Accra;

Teamwork in action

The vocational training opportunities include building, manufacturing, decorating, assembling and installing Little Free Libraries Little Free Libraries and strategizing about additional vocational opportunities for the girls related to the construction aspect of the project;

The library stewardship part of the project includes workshops and shared learning opportunities with the Street Girls Aid Staff and the team traveling to Ghana in coordination and partnership with a number of on the ground librarians - can't wait to see what comes from these shared learning opportunities.

The birth of the traveling library - Hudson, Wisconsin USA

To successfully accomplish the build, assemble and construct part of the project, the team will be bringing 5 libraries with us as checked baggage and will seek partners on the ground to design and draw plans for libraries...and you will be able to follow this particular library which Kathy Stutzman built in Hudson, Wisconsin and the journey starts here...

The next part of the trip for this library is to shipping to get dressed and ready for the trip, pictures will be posted when it is ready to travel, until then - follow the links included in this post to learn more about the various partners we will be working with in Accra...7 days and counting.

Thank you all for your support and well-wishes!

Rotary and Ghana in the news

Check out this news story about the upcoming trip to Ghana


The story and inspiration behind the upcoming work in Ghana

"I had a vision"

I had a vision…

Day 3 in Accra brought us off on a side-trip this morning to

the Nima area…a very deprived part of the city.  We 

headed there with Antoinette,who is the Director of a 

school that teaches 2-12 year olds.  A passion of hers is The Little Free Library www.littlefreelibrary.org which

 promotes reading through free book exchanges. We had

this connection throughTodd Bol from the Hudson Rotary Club. In Nima we met the

librarian - Erica, a very quiet 12 year old, who holds the keys to a bookshelf that sits in a

small compound housing more than 300 people.  She was so softspoken that I needed to

lean towards her to hear her words.  I told her how

impressed I was that a girl of her age would take on the

responsibility of issuing books and checking them back into

their small library.  She beamed…When I asked her “Why do you do this?”, her answer moved me to tears.  In
this destitute, dusty, and poverty stricken corner of the city, she said “I had a vision to help others to learn to read”.  

Gulp…we should all have been so fortunate to have had a

vision so early in our lives to help others. We found it hard  to walk away….

Tonight brings unpacking, repacking, and prepping for our

first session with our friends from Street Aid tomorrow.  We are EXCITED, and can only hope that Erica has inspired us to help others move from vision to a concrete plan, which can enhance the lives of many.

We are so excited to see many of you checking the blog!  Please don’t
hesitate to tell us what you want to know, what you find interesting, what
you would like to hear more about! Send us your comments...