FAVL was founded in 2001 to help establish and support village libraries in rural Africa. Since then, it has helped establish 38 libraries in Burkina Faso, 3 in Ghana, and 1 in Uganda. In the past year, FAVL partnered with other organizations to establish 2 new libraries in Burkina Faso. However, terrorism has led to the closure of 5 libraries in Burkina Faso and displacement of residents. FAVL continues its work of supporting existing libraries and establishing new ones to promote literacy, education, and community.

1. Dear friends of African village libraries,
FAVL was founded in 2001 with a simple mission: to help village libraries in
rural Africa. Thanks to your contributions, FAVL has helped to establish 38
libraries in Burkina Faso, 3 in Ghana, and the Kitengesa Community Library in
Uganda. FAVL also supports the Uganda Community Libraries Association.
This past year in Burkina Faso, we were able to help with two new libraries.
FAVL partnered with Humanitas, a Slovenian NGO, to manage a community
library in a poor neighborhood
in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso.
Not really rural, but we felt it
was close enough to our core
mission! Another library,
funded by a partnership
between a generous donor to
FAVL, together with the gold
mining company Endeavour,
and the Mayor of Houndé, has
opened in Koho, in
southwestern Burkina Faso, in
memory of Clarice Weiniger
(godmother of the donor). The
library is nicely decorated
with traditional masks, and has
an initial book stock of about
300 books, all purchased
locally. FAVL tries to have
most of the books in every
library be the kinds of books
that readers want to read,
rather than donated used books
that are often of little appeal to
new readers in villages.
Terrorism has been a
significant threat to many of
the libraries in Burkina Faso.
In October, the village of Pobe-Mengao was attacked, and 20 persons were
killed. Many families, including that of the long-serving librarian, fled to the
town of Djibo. They joined over 500,000 displaced persons in Burkina Faso.
Five other libraries in the area (Belehede, Barsalogho, Pissila, Rouko, and
Rollo) have had to close, as insurgents conduct daily attacks on civilians,
schools, government offices, police stations, and commercial transport. The
insurgents are linked to a jihadist group operating in the Sahel-Sahara region.
We strongly believe that providing access to good reading material, especially
for young readers, is an imperative for peace and development. Reading
cultivates the capacity for empathy, for critical thinking, and for participating
in society as a global citizen. We hope you will support us in our mission.
Thanks for taking the time to look through the newsletter. Don’t forget to read
a good novel this holiday season!
With thanks, Michael Kevane and Kate Parry
Friends of African Village Libraries Newsletter December 2019
FAVL’s mission is to help create and
foster a culture of reading. Generous
donors and volunteers enable us to work
with local communities and non-profit
organizations to support libraries in
Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Uganda, to
develop innovative literacy programs
and to provide ongoing library staff
training.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization,
donations to FAVL are tax-deductible.
A team of North American volunteers
supports the FAVL paid staff in Africa.
Current fundraising priorities:
 Building an endowment for each of
the FAVL-supported community li-
braries.
 Renewing stock of locally-purchased
books by African authors.
 Producing more micro-books in local
languages and languages of instruc-
tion.
West Africa Director
Michael Kevane
Professor of Economics
Santa Clara University
mkevane@scu.edu
East Africa Director
Kate Parry
Professor of English
Hunter College
City University of New York
kateparry@earthlink.net
Address: P.O. Box 90533,
San Jose, CA 95109
Email: info@favl.org
Website & Blog: www.favl.org
Libraries. Terrorism. Reading.

2. FAVL, in partnership with CESRUD (a local
NGO) supports three libraries in Upper East re-
gion of Ghana. CESRUD-FAVL Coordinator
Paul Ayutoliya has been an excellent leader, net-
working and initiating programs. Here are just
some of the accomplishments of 2019:
 Generous donors enabled refurbishment of
the Gowrie-Kunkua Library, repainting furni-
ture, fixing windows, and installing ceiling
fans.
 The Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive
signed a partnership agreement with
CESRUD and the Ghana Library Authority
to participate more actively in managing the
libraries of Sumbrungu and Sherigu.
 Ghana librarians met monthly with Paul to
share experiences and report on activities.
Librarians had an informal book club, read-
ing a novel together before each meeting.
 In July, 140 new books were purchased for
the libraries.
 The annual four-week vacation reading pro-
grams were held in August in all three librar-
ies. Schoolchildren come after school for a
series of reading activities and lots of fun and
games. Teachers and librarians worked to-
gether to provide daily activities that im-
proved reading skills.
 In November, over 700 new books were re-
ceived for the three libraries, from Biblionef
and the Ghana Book Trust.
 All three libraries averaged more than 1,000
visits per month!
 In July, Paul visited Jordan Nu Library, to
support the librarian and community, and
deliver 70 new books.
Update from Kitengesa Community Library
Update from Ghana libraries (Sumbrungu, Sherigu, and Gowrie-Kunkua)
On August 29-30, 2019, Kitengesa Community Library hosted its third health
camp for adult women. The funds for this camp were donated by the Heidi
Paoli Fund. Because of the Fund’s interest in the care of cancer patients, the
two camps focused on cancer—appropriately since cancer, especially of the
cervix and the breast, now kills more people in Uganda than even malaria. The
Marie Stopes Clinic, located nearby in Masaka town, provided professional
help. The doctor who directs the clinic spoke to the participants about cancer
and answered questions. Two nurses offered screening to anyone who wanted
it for HOV, the viral infection that leads to cervical cancer; the library’s com-
puter room was turned into a temporary clinic for the purpose. Thirty-one peo-
ple attended the camp, including twenty who had never been to the library be-
fore, and twenty-six were screened. Aside from the doctor’s talk and the
screenings, the library set up board games for the women to play that were
designed to reinforce the information, and they also, led by one of the librarians, played a cancer-focused version of Jeop-
ardy. Despite the fact that the rainy season had just begun and the women were anxious to work in their gardens, they
appreciated the camp and were unanimous in asking us to organize more in future about other health issues.

3. FAVL produces 12 new locally-
authored books for Burkina Faso
Uganda Community Libraries
Association
The FAVL team in Burkina Faso based in the Houndé
multimedia center works with a few young people, and a
talented local illustrator Robert Bazoum, to produce short
stories for young readers. The books deal with local sub-
ject matters. In 2019, 12 new books were printed and dis-
tributed to all libraries in Burkina Faso
Support more projects like these! Donate by mail or online at favl.org
Training of young women in
Houndé on using computers
Young women in rural schools often are well into secondary
school before they have access to a computer, an essential
tool for work in the modern economy. Thanks to support
from a Rotary International grant, FAVL has for five years
supported a small multimedia center. Every month, young
women came to the center to receive training and practice
using computers, some for the first time.
FAVL continues to support UgCLA, which was able in 2019
to launch a one-year project in partnership with the Book Aid
International, to transform five libraries in rural areas and
Kampala slums into vibrant children’s libraries. Activities
accomplished thus far in each library:
• 11 librarians (total) trained in 5-day workshop
• Children’s books distributed, 277 locally published and
2000+ donated from the U.K.
• Grants awarded for community outreach and engagement
programs
• Children’s corners refurbished with new child-friendly
furniture, newly painted walls and reading spaces
enhanced with tents, toys and games promoting literacy.
UgCLA also organized an annual conference hosted by Cen-
tre For Youth Driven Development Initiatives, funded in part
by Book Aid International and in part by contributions from
member libraries. Members made two key decisions: They
drafted revisions to UgCLA’s constitution (currently being
reviewed by members) and voted to increase annual subscrip-
tion and conference fees. In reality, though, most libraries are
unable to pay these fees due to financial struggles.
Emails we love to receive at FAVL: MATHIAS AYINE
ABAGNA Sat, Nov 9, 6:57 AM (1 day ago)
I am Abagna Mathias Ayine one of the 2010 and 2011 beneficiaries of the
FAVL reading camp program organised in my village Sherigu,Upper East
Region, Ghana. It helped improve my reading skills and academics as a
whole which has resulted into me being in the University of Ghana offering
Geology. God bless you. Thank you.

4. NONPROFIT ORG
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Friends of African Village Libraries
P.O. Box 90533
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Current Resident or
Crossword puzzle competition in
Niankorodougou library, Burkina Faso
Young people in remote villages should be
reading and doing puzzles. But 90% of young
people have no access to libraries. FAVL’s mis-
sion is exactly this photo.