Libraries of Love

Local newspaper features volunteer

LTHS student builds libraries in Uganda

Lake Travis View ... July 8th, 2009

When most kids are taking family vacations around the U.S., or going to summer camp, Kaitlyn Sisk, a senior at Lake Travis High School, spent her summer building Libraries in Africa.

Sisk first heard about Libraries of Love, a local non-profit organization, when the director, Trudy Marshall, came to talk to her Bethany United Methodist Church youth group in February. Read more ...

Second travel team arrives; luggage doesn't

The team from Illinois is, from left, Marsha Mayner, Connie Lovelace, Debbie Rhoades, Jeanne Bell and Shannon Wingler.

The first team left this morning (June 29) for the States, and the second team arrived. None of the luggage for the second group arrived with the airplane. However, we always tell our volunteers to pack a change of clothes, etc. - just in case. Another airplane arrives on Wednesday, so hopefully the luggage will arrive at that time. Follow the team's progress on the Libraries of Love blog.

First 2009 travel team arrives in Mbale

Libraries of Love volunteers from Texas and Kansas arrived in Mbale, Uganda, on June 15th to create three libraries. This group will be in Uganda until June 29th. A telephone message from Executive Director Trudy Marshall reported a safe arrival. Power was out in Mbale so volunteers could not email friends and family as planned. Occassional power outages are not unusual, but Facilities Director Paul Ortega said outages would not impact the team's work because Libraries of Love shipped a portable generator to Uganda. A group of volunteers from Illinois will join Trudy on June 29th - July 13th to create libraries in Mukono and Kampala. They will also restock our first library in Namirembe Primary School. Trudy will remain until July 27th to train the students and staff at the schools how to use their libraries.

Thanks to World Book for donation

Thanks to World Book for their generous donation of multiple copies of children's reference books that will be included in our 2010 projects for the children of Uganda. Titles include "Childrcaft: How Things Work," "Childcraft: Our Earth," "Christmas Around the World," and "Tales and Mystery of the Unknown." We appreciate the continued support of national publishers such as World Book.

Thanks to Moody Publishers for new books

Special thanks to Moody Publishers for their generous gift of books to Libraries of Love.

This amazing variety of fiction and nonfiction books will not only promote literacy for present day Ugandan students, but their brothers and sisters for many years to come.

Because of gifts like this and those from other publishers, groups, and individuals, we are already preparing for next January's shipment to Uganda.

In June and July, two groups of voluteers will travel to Uganda to create libraries from the 24,000 books that were shipped to Uganda this year.

Shipment arrives in Mbale, Uganda

Wambwa Primary School students help unload and store the books, maps, globes and supplies that arrived in early April. Our thanks to Pastor Wilberforce Okumu, who coordinated the delivery and unloading.

Volunteers will travel to Uganda in June to create libraries in five schools and restock one library.

This year's shipment included:

- Approximately 24,000 books
- 350 math text books
- 300+ new baseball jerseys
- 738 wall maps
- 645 globes
- Teacher supplies / teaching materials
- Gifts of pencils/ink pens and a book for each student
- Soccer and volleyballs for each school

Project list for 2009

Following are the schools that will receive libraries next summer. As you can see, we will be busy here preparing, as well as later in Uganda . We know we can count on the community again this year to support our efforts.

* Wambwa Primary School - 1,130 students

* Namakwekwe Primary - 1,590 students

* Mbale High School - 1,200 students

* Martin Nkoyoyo Integrated School - 77 sighted students / 50 blind

* Upland High School - 500 students

* Namirembe Primary School - restock / 1,000 books

Click here to learn how you can help – with book donations, with fundraising or by volunteering your time.

A wonderful windfall: 645 globes and 738 wall maps

At left, representatives of Herff Jones came to Laurel Moutain Elementary to show samples of the hundreds of maps and globes the company donated to Libraries of Love. Above, the donated items are shown in the company's warehouse before being shipped to Texas.

Thanks to a recent donation to Libraries of Love, students throughout Uganda will be able to visualize the world in a new way. A total of 738 new wall maps and 645 globes, valued at $106,898, were donated by Herff Jones Education – Nystrom and Cram division. Herff Jones is an Indianapolis company that has served schools since 1920. The Nystrom and Cram division provides maps, globes and other Social Studies material.

Ms. Marshall asked Herff Jones if they would donate maps for the five schools that will receive libraries this summer. The company's reply was much, much more than had been expected. But, after the surprise, Libraries of Love board members decided to accept the maps and globes and send them to Uganda even if it was beyond the normal reach of the nonprofit’s mission to provide libraries for Ugandan schools. “I have never seen maps or globes in the schools in which we have provided libraries,” Ms. Marshall wrote in an email to Herff Jones. Libraries of Love will work with Ugandan education officials to distribute the maps and globes across the country.

Randy Claybrook, Herff Jones customer service manager, said the request was very timely because the company was “clearing our warehouse inventory of many discontinued items.” Herff Jones paid for shipping the maps and globes to Texas.

“Your donation will make such a difference in lives (of Ugandan children) as they are able to 'look' at the broader world,” Ms. Marshall told Mr. Claybrook.

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Lake Travis View ... July 8th, 2009