FAVL supports libraries in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Uganda by providing books, funding literacy programs, and training library staff. Current fundraising priorities include building endowments for community libraries, renewing stocks of African authored books, and producing books in local languages. Updates are provided on activities at libraries in each country over the past year, including hosting reading competitions, refurbishing libraries damaged by storms, and distributing thousands of books.

1. Friends of African Village Libraries Newsletter December 2021
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 U.S. volunteers supports FAVL
activities 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
Supporting readers and writers
Fankani Emmanuelle and Fankani Ina are secondary school students
from the village of Karaba in Burkina Faso. They are passionate about
reading and regularly visit the village library. Through the FAVL-
supported activities of the Houndé Multimedia Center (funded by a
grant from Rotary International) the two students, and others like
them, have written short stories drawn from their experiences and im-
aginations. Emmanuelle and Ina’s books are titled, respectively, The
Kola Vendor and Kéro, the Handicapped Child. The stories were il-
lustrated by Robert Bazoun, a Houndé resident. FAVL staff then for-
matted, edited, printed, and distributed copies to libraries throughout
the country, free of charge.
The FAVL team in Burkina Faso produced 18 books in 2021, so there
are now 85 titles! An intern, François Ouédraogo, has been going
through every book and reformatting them so that they follow a com-
mon standard. The team printed more than 2,000 copies of the books
for distribution. At right is the cover of Amos the Orphan, written by
Domboué Eugenie.
Emmanuelle, Ina, and Eugenie are
emblematic of the aspirations of
FAVL, to support and encourage read-
ing among village populations who
are complementing their rich and di-
verse cultural heritage of proverbs,
music, dance, oral storytelling, and
arts and crafts, with the world of fic-
tion and non-fiction books.
We try our best to keep our adminis-
trative overhead low. FAVL directors
in the U.S. are all volunteers. This
newsletter is our only fundraising ex-
pense. Thank you for supporting the
readers and writers of Burkina Faso,
Ghana, and Uganda!

2. FAVL, in partnership with CESRUD (a local NGO) supports three libraries in the Upper East region of Ghana. Here are
just some of the accomplishments of 2021.
• 71 boxes of books and two book shelves were provided by Biblionef Ghana (with support from the Rotary Club of
The Hague-Metropolitan District and the Rotary Club of Tema), with CESRUD as implementing partner. 22 basic
schools in Bolgatanga West B and Bolgatanga North Circuits in Sumbrungu and Nyariga communities now have
mini school libraries. Children in these schools are encouraged to read the wide variety of books available.
• In May, the refurbished Gowrie-Kunkua library was re-opened. (The roof had blown off in 2020 in a storm shortly
after the pandemic started and the library was basically destroyed.)
• In July, the extended reading room of the Sumbrungu community library was inaugurated. The idea of an additional
library room was to address the limited capacity of the current library hall to contain the increase number of library
users, and to enable library users to observe COVID 19 social distancing protocol measures. Invited guests, including
teachers, library users, reps of the Sumbrungu Youth and Development Association (SUYDA), and others celebrated
the opening.
• Monthly reports of library usage and activities are posted to the FAVL blog. In general, the three Ghana libraries see
about 4,000 visits per month. They are very well-used.
• Sumbrungu Community Library hosted a reading competition in November with several hundred students from
neighboring schools.
• Kathy Knowles of Osu Children’s Library Fund paid a visit to CESRUD/FAVL
Ghana libraries in November … she is author, photographer, and collaborator on
some of the most read books in the libraries.
• CESRUD director Rex Asanga (and FAVL partner) was unanimously confirmed by
the Bolgatanga Regional Assembly to the position of chief executive. Asanga
(center, in white) has long been enthusiastic about promoting reading and access to
books. Congratulations on the new position! Because Rex is taking on new duties,
CESRUD has hired a new director for education and library programs, Benedict
Akana. Benedict has a wealth of experience and FAVL is looking forward to collaborating
with him.
Kitengesa Community Library and Uganda Community Libraries Association
Updates from Ghana libraries (Sumbrungu, Sherigu, and Gowrie-Kunkua)
• FAVL Director Kate Parry visited Kitengesa Community
Library in November, and wrote: “The place was busy: 17
young children were there, reading and looking at story-
books, and 8 teenagers, who were working with the three
computers (this is why we want to buy some new ones if we
can afford it). Mr. Mayanja, who leads our Library Band
was also there and eager to tell me about a project he has
for Christmas: a special performance for some of the poor-
est people in the village, with a small gift to each of them of
sugar and other necessities. He’s fundraising for it now, so
I’ve promised him a contribution. I will hand it over next
Friday, when the Band is putting on a special performance
for me to celebrate my recovery from surgery.”
• Muhammad, an assistant librarian at Kitengesa Community
Library in Uganda, also sent a note that the library held a
reading day event with 16 pupils from the local school for
the deaf, 20 pupils from St. Joseph Lwannunda, and 35 vil-
lage youth including some teachers.
• FAVL supports the Uganda Community Libraries Association, and UgCLA coordinator Emmanuel Anguyo regular-
ly sends in reports from various UgCLA member libraries. The most important news was that four UgCLA member
libraries were selected to participate in a community reading award micro project by Book Aid International: Marko
Lukooya Community Library, Mpolyabigere Community Library, Mummy Foundation Community Library, and
Katakwi Community Library. UgCLA is supervising the four projects on behalf of BAI. Mpolyabigere received
their donations of books from Book Aid International through UgCLA. Marko Lukooya started their project for dis-
tributing books via mountain bikes, a kind of mobile library. In other news for UgCLA libraries, M-LISADA Li-
brary, Kikulu Zone Community Library, and Bugolobi Library reported they were operating normally in 2021.

3. Updates from Burkina Faso
• Here is a typical report from FAVL-BF coordinator Sanou Dounko (dozens of
other site visit reports are on the FAVL blog): “In July, I visited the Sabcé com-
munity library in Bam province. Arriving around 9 am, in a fine rain, I was re-
ceived by manager Ouédraogo Rosine. I began the visit looking over the library,
then the management tools, data collection from January to June 2021 and finally
played a scrabble game session with Rosine. The books and shelves were well
maintained and tidy. The management tools were up to date. The January to June
usage data was: 19 subscribers including 1 from primary school, 17 from second-
ary school and 1 adult; 453 book check outs including 6 European works, 245
African works and 202 comics; 3,053 visits by users, mostly children. Rosine
organized two reading camps which saw the participation of about 50 elementary
school students. These camps were funded by BBIII of CRS. Finally, we played a scrabble game.”
• Library services have been normal with several hundred visits per month being typical for most libraries. Twelve of
the 38 libraries (all in the north) have unfortunately had to close due to terrorism and insecurity. The violence contin-
ues unabated in northern regions of the country.
• The BMP mobile library in Houndé hired a new animateur in May 2021, and he has been taking the library to visit
schools, reaching hundreds of kids each week with great reading material, puzzles, and coloring activities.
• Workshops with librarians were held over the year, four in Tuy, and several in Kongoussi and Kaya for the northern
librarians. Tuy librarians had an excursion to the French Cultural Center of Bobo-Dioulasso.
• The local newsletter, Echos des bibliothèques was printed and delivered to librarians and partners every month, and is
available on the FAVL website. It contains news about other Burkina Faso activities.
Kids in Koho Library, Burkina
Faso, completed a “tropics” puzzle !

4. NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
SAN JOSE, CA
PERMIT NO. 1014
Friends of African Village Libraries
P.O. Box 90533
San Jose, CA 95109-3533
Current Resident or
Playing a game in Gowrie-Kunkua Library, Ghana
Libraries are primarily for reading, but most libraries
supported by FAVL also have sets of games (Lido,
checkers, and mancala are very popular). The best li-
brarians encourage games, coloring, and story ses-
sions in their libraries.