Since the UN committed to its “Education for All” (EFA) campaign to provide every child around the world with primary education by 2015, the percentage of students attending primary school in DRC has increased each year. Unfortunately, this hasn’t necessarily translated into more learning. While an estimated 57 percent of Congolese 15-24 year olds have finished primary school, only 47 percent can read a complete sentence. Though many factors influence this outcome, access to books and other reading materials is one of the most glaring.
At ABC, we prioritize daily access to a selection of age-appropriate books and magazines, which students can also bring home to share with family members and friends. The opportunity to seek out information and expand their world through reading is already making an impact on our students and their community.
Meet Celine!
“My name is Celine Kavula. I love reading books, because there are stories and words to learn! I’d like you to send some books to ABC (my school)!”
We are excited to expand our library’s scope and capacity through a partnership with Books for Eastern Congo and Books for Africa. The books should be arriving in September or November. We still need shelves for our books, furniture for our readers, and materials for organizing and tracking our library books. Help us build and organize our library!
