Budding Libraries Part 1: Grant Applications, Foundation, and Infrastructure

Both of our schools have requested assistance in starting school-based libraries for learners (and teachers) to use. Most of our learners do not have books at home and/or are being raised by a person who cannot read. These libraries will support the remedial and extension learning of our students. There is a special interest in increasing access to English books because in grade 4 the Language of Instruction switches from being the learners’ “Home Language” (as determined by the school’s community, and in their case “IsiZulu”) to all courses being taught in English. English literacy has a domino effect: literacy leads to success in the subjects taught in school, which leads to obtaining competitive, meaningful employment (important in a county with a 30% unemployment rate), which leads to financial independence and security. Thus, supporting literacy program is a key priority for our schools and the larger community.

Therefore, for the last 3 months, Joe and I have both been working on two grant applications for book donations and setting up the infrastructure to support the incoming books. The continued development and maintenance of these libraries will be a significant secondary project for us during our service. We want to share a bit of our process with you. If approved for both, we will each receive a total of 2,250 new or gently-used books for our school libraries (fingers crossed).

Joe’s Account
In 2013, the educators at my school saw a need that wasn’t being addressed – the school was missing a library. The school already possessed a small number of fiction, non-fiction, and reference books (approximately 100). However, these books were being kept in the principal’s office because there wasn’t a designated space for them. The educators acquired a couple of large cabinets, placed them in one of the classrooms, and called it a library. The educators lacked formal training about how to establish and run a library, so the books sat idle in their new location.

Cabinets Awaiting More Books

This was where I came in. When I started volunteering at my school a few months ago in September 2014, the educators told me they wanted get more books for the library. After perusing the shelves in the cabinets, I spoke with the educators about applying for grants. They were excited about the possibility but didn’t know where to start. Through the assistance of other Peace Corps Volunteers in South Africa, I was able to find two grants that would help my school get books.

Both grants required a completed application and library action plan. The first grant also required a monetary commitment from the school to show its seriousness in enhancing the library. Despite working at one of the poorest schools in the region, the educators saw this challenge as an opportunity to unite the learners and their families. And they were going to do so by hosting a fundraiser called Market Day.

Along with the founding of the library, a library committee was also established. However, in the year before I came, the library committee had never met. Now, with the grant and Market Day, they had a reason. The committee discussed the fundraiser, decided what was going to be sold, and picked a date in early November.

The Educator/Librarian Leading the Way

Learners Lined Up to Purchase Goodies

Market Day came and, with it, excitement. Every educator pitched in to help – popping popcorn, making signs, reorganizing a classroom to become a “market”, setting up speakers to play music, and more. At break time, learners lined up outside the classroom to purchase snacks. In addition to popcorn, juice, hotdogs, ice creams, chips, and suckers were sold. The break flew by in a flash, and, by the end, over R700 (equivalent to $70) was raised. (This may sound like a small sum of money by American standards, but R700 is a large amount in South Africa). The educators were jubilant!

Educators Dancing before the Start of Market Day

Learners Excited to Get New/Gently-Used Books

Leading up to Market Day, an educator and I wrote a letter asking local businesses for donations. We raised R550 through their generosity. Combining the donations with the money raised during Market Day, my school raised the required amount for the grant.


The library committee and I met again after the fundraiser to discuss next steps. While we waited to hear about the grants, we identified training the educators would need in order to operate the library. Plans are now underway to coordinate the training. As part of the training, educators highlighted the need to include learners in the training so they know how to use the books and how to care for them.

Michelle’s Account
My school had wanted a library for at least one year. They had assigned a library committee and started to pull out books that they had already had in their stock. They had asked for donor resources, but hadn’t received the information necessary for them to act. These were steps in the right direction, for sure. However, the committee had only met once and the books weren’t being used and there were still 3x as many books hiding away in the depths of storage…So, we had some work to do.

I first approached the library chairperson to hold a meeting in early October. It became clear after a few tries that she wasn’t quite sure how to approach the principal to ask for a meeting and get us started. She asked if I would have that conversation and get the ball rolling… I didn’t understand at the time that she had never actually called any meeting on her own before and she literally did not know how to do this.

In our first two months of meeting, the committee has already accomplished the following:

• Developed the Purpose and Aims of the Library Committee
• Decided on a new structure for the committee, including roles and duties
• Instituted a new Student Assistant program to make the management of the library more sustainable
• Selected and trained 11 Student Assistants from grades 3-7
• Developed the Appropriate Use Policy for library resources (though the meeting to decide the consequences was cancelled)
• Approved two grants to request large book donations (1,000-1,250 books in each)

One great thing about the two grants we have applied for is that they both required our committee to set a more solid foundation for the library. As a result, it is easier to build buy-in for many essential elements. We still have a lot of work to do in the next school year to keep headed in the right direction, but morale is really high around the project and I am excited to see where we are able to go!

Book Grants: Current Status
To date, Joe and I have heard that our schools were accepted for the first grant – yay! We’re still waiting to hear about the second one, but we remain hopeful that we’ll hear good news. Expect to see another blog about the libraries as we hear more.

In the mean time, we’d like to give a shout out to Paul Prociv, Robbie Lang, and Michael Holloway for agreeing to be our contacts and lead fundraisers in the US for the second grant (if approved). We appreciate your willingness to assist us. Thanks Paul, Robbie, and Michael!

Over the River and Through the Woods… To the Indian Ocean, We Go!

(Please take note: this post is on the long side. But we’re okay with that because there’s no other way to tell this story; it’s just too good.)

This children’s song couldn’t be more fitting for the adventure we took about a month ago. A few weeks earlier, Michelle and I decided that we wanted to try to walk to the Indian Ocean from our house. When the locals go to the ocean, they spend about an hour in their 4X4 vehicle bouncing down the rutted roads. Although we could probably find someone to drive us there (PCVs are not allowed to operated motor vehicles while at site), we were excited for the opportunity to puzzle out our route and “hamba ngezinyawo” (go walking). We poured over the dinky map on Michelle’s cell phone and dreamed of the journey. We marked our calendars and were determined a day to go.

LEG 1: The Journey Begins…

Our hopes were slightly dampened when we woke to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on our tin roof.  However, I was feeling caged, and the thought of staying in all day was unappealing. I looked at Michelle and I said, “I don’t mind the rain. I just want to get out of the house.” Michelle smiled. With true Pacific-Northwesterner spirit, we quickly got ready, packed our day bags, and pulled up hoods of our rain jackets as we ventured outside.

We decided to retrace a route we took a few weeks prior that would get us to the edge of the third lake in the Kosi Lake system. We chose this route, despite it taking us a little bit out of the way, partially because it was a beautiful resting point and to see if we could remember it, but mostly because Michelle was nervous that we might not make it all the way to the ocean and wanted to take advantage of a guaranteed waterfront view. Although I did not share her concerns, I could see that it would make her smile and obliged the small detour.

Kosi Lake in the Distance

We were pleased to see that we could remember how to get to the lake, but we were surprised to find a few other people there (the last time we were there we had the lake to ourselves). We greeted the people in isiZulu and introduced ourselves. We learned that the people there were guides from a local tourist lodge who were waiting on a couple of clients. The head guide, George, asked what we were doing, so we told him about how we hoped to get to the ocean. He was shocked to hear that we planned to walk there because he said it was going to take a few hours. But he seemed more confident in our abilities (if not even more shocked) to hear that we had walked to the lake from our village, which took about 1.5 hours.

Before leaving them, we asked if he could give us directions from the lake to the ocean. We thought we had a good sense of where we were going, but we couldn’t miss this opportunity to gain better beta. He drew some rough directions in the dirt and gave us a few landmarks to follow. When Michelle and I left him waiting for his clients, he jokingly said he hoped to see us at the beach. As we left the lake, we came across one of George’s partners at the trailhead. He had just arrived with the clients. We exchanged greetings and introductions, and then we told him our plans. This guide was just as amazed as his partner had been. He double-checked to make sure we knew that this would be a long journey. After confirming that we prepared to walk for most of the day, the guide told us to wait for him at the trailhead. He said he would give us a ride in his safari vehicle to the South side of the lake after he dropped off the clients to help cut down on some of the walking.

Michelle and I were excited to receive his offer, so we sat waiting like little kids at Christmas for his return. When the guide got back, we climbed into the seats and we starting driving. It was a really cool experience to ride in the safari vehicle. It felt like you could see for miles! I had a huge smile on my face for the whole drive (about two kilometers); I couldn’t believe we were getting a ride like that.

The guide took us to a juncture in the road. He explained, “Take this road here and stay to the left. You will come to a river. Look for the raffia-branch ferry to pull yourselves across the river. Try to follow the edge of the lake on the other side and it will lead you to the ocean.” We thanked him for the ride and directions, and we continued on our way.

LEG 2: …Over the River…
We found the trail at the end of the road. The route to the river was pretty simple and direct. The river’s edge was marshy and lined with high, undisturbed grasses. It was clear that this was not where the ferry crossed. The guides had shared that the raft would be off the beaten path and used only by those who lived along the river’s edge, so we turned to the North and followed the smaller path upstream hoping to find the crossing. After a little while, the ground became more firm and defined. Finally, we found the raft.

The raft was a little longer than a queen-sized bed, but just as wide. It was attached to both ends of the shore by long ropes. To cross the river, we had to fetch the raft by pulling on the rope that stretches between our shore and the raft. Once the distance was closed, we stepped onto the raft and pulled a separate rope, which will brought us to the opposite shore.

The Rafia-Branch Ferry

There were some boys fishing on the other side of the river when we got there. A few of them were kind enough to pull the raft to our side and hand over the rope. Michelle and I boarded the raft, pulled on the rope, and crossed the river.

LEG 3: …And Through the Woods…
As we continued alongside the lake, we passed a herd of cows grazing near the water. Some of the cows were even out in the water (something new for me to see). Michelle asked the herders if we were heading in the right direction. Considering the language barrier, we took their nods at “ulwandle” (meaning ocean) and pointing to mean that we were going the right way.

After the lake, we wound our way through a wooded maze of trails and roadways. Michelle and I left markings in the sand whenever we came to a fork in the trail so that we would know how to find our way back. We could tell we were getting closer to the ocean because we started to feel a change in the temperature and, eventually, we could hear the sound of the water. We did feel discouraged a couple of times because we kept expecting to see the ocean after making a few turns, but it wasn’t there. With the little life left to the battery on Michelle’s phone (we didn’t have electricity the day before so she wasn’t able to charge it), we found our location on a map. The ocean was definitely within reach. Thankfully, we passed a couple of children who pointed us in the right direction and there were a few, sketchy signs that we didn’t expect to see that helped us.

We passed a campsite that we knew was near the ocean, because the guides had told us about it. This meant that we were nearly there. We walked a little farther; we could smell the salt of the sea now. Our excitement was growing.

The Thicket before the Ocean

We turned the corner, walked through some trees, and, through the thicket, we could see the blue of the ocean. Our pace quickened as we came out of the trees and could see the ocean stretched out into the horizon. We made it! After walking for 3.5 hours and traveling around 20 km, we had arrived at the Indian Ocean.

HALFWAY: The Indian Ocean!
It was beautiful. The waves were lapping on the shore. There were a few fishermen with lines in the water hoping to catch some kingfish. We walked along the shore mesmerized by the water and enjoying the breeze.

A Grand View of the Indian Ocean

Michelle and I ate our lunch; after walking so far, we were famished. Michelle was feeling a little anxious about the timing and was eager to get back on trail. However, she could tell that taking the time to enjoy the beach was important to me so we decided to sit a little longer to take in the moment.  We made ourselves comfortable in the sand, and I closed my eyes for a bit while I listened to the waves.

Waves Crashing Upon the Shore

I told Michelle that I wanted to stick my feet in the ocean before we left. We took off our boots and walked to the water’s edge. The water felt refreshingly cool. We walked parallel to the shore to the spot where we entered the beach, snapping pictures along the way. As we neared the entrance/exit, we saw a familiar face standing there – it was George, the guide that we met at Kosi Lake! He saw us walking up from the water and, with a huge smile on his face, he ran down to meet us halfway. He was amazed to see us because he was impressed that we made it. We tried to make him laugh by telling him it was because of his directions.

Michelle's and My Feet in the Ocean

George asked us how much longer we planned to stay on the beach. We told that we were on our way out now because we need to get back before dark. He told us that if we were willing to wait another hour he would give us a ride in his boat back across the lake because there were plenty of seats. Michelle and I couldn’t believe our ears. It was too good to be true. We happily accepted his offer. The guide told us that while we waited there were sea turtle nests we could view on the beach. (Note: sea turtles are one of Michelle’s favorite animals). He told us how to find the nests and he set us loose. We found a few nests along the beach, and we were careful not to disturb them.

Low Tide at the Ocean

Finding ourselves with some time to kill, we sat down in the sand watching the water. Before long, dozens of crabs starting poking their bodies out from beneath the sand. The crabs with their little fire red shells and claws cautiously cleared sand out of their homes. It seemed like a futile endeavor considering that their homes would be underwater when the tide came back in.

A Crab Poking Out Its Head from Beneath the Sand

LEG 5: The Journey Home
After an hour went by, Michelle and I, along with the guides and their clients, boarded the boat and headed back across the lake. Like when I was on the safari vehicle, I couldn’t help but smile as we sped over the water. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

We made it to the other side of the lake and docked the boat where we originally met the group. We helped the guides carry some of their equipment back to their truck. They all climbed into the truck, we said goodbye, and they drove off. Michelle and I laughed and reveled in the experience we had just had. After a couple of minutes, we started walking so we could get back home.

LEG 6: The Detour
Along the way, we saw a house in the distance that we recognized from a photo a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer had shown us. He told us it belonged to a friend he and his wife had made while they were in our shopping town. I saw that there was a truck parked outside the house and there were people sitting on the porch. Michelle said, “How funny would it be if those were our friends up there!” We hadn’t walked more than a few steps before, lo and behold, we heard the people from the porch yelling our names. We turned and looked in their direction and we were overjoyed to see our friends waving their arms.

We detoured from the trail and meandered up to the house. Our friends had huge smiles on their faces and gave us big hugs. We were all amazed to see each other. They introduced us to their friends who were quick to invite us to dinner. It felt great to sit on the porch, sip a nice beverage, and overlook the lake we had just came from. After the sun set, one of the new people we met told us to listen closely. As we listened, we could hear a deep noise that sounded like a low foghorn. She told us the sound was coming from hippos – so cool! It was too bad we couldn’t see them.

After finishing dinner and chatting some more, our new friends drove us back to our house. Michelle and I walked inside, looked at each, and simply said, “What a wonderful day.”

Post-Script
In reflecting on our journey to the ocean, a couple of lessons/reminders stand out. First, it was our trust in each other and listening to our needs that allowed this day to be truly magical. If I had not compromised with Michelle to stop in at Kosi Lake, we never would have met George and would probably have failed in our journey. If Michelle had not compromised on the time we would start walking home, we would have missed George again—and missed out on the sea turtle nests, the dancing of the crabs in the tide, and the generous ride across the lake. This was a nice reminder of how beautiful it can be when we slow down and listen to one another.

Michelle & Me Standing on the Shoreline

Secondly, seeing the ocean wasn’t the only amazing part to the experience, though; it was getting there and back that truly made the experience exceptional. It’s often said that the journey is more meaningful that the destination. In our experience, it couldn’t have been more true. A month ago, we made it happen. We walked to the ocean. And it was as breathtaking as we hoped it would be.

The Mango Tree, My Gym

There’s a mango tree that sits right outside my front door. It’s large, maybe about 25-30 feet tall, provides great shade for reading a book, and has many branches extending from its peculiarly small trunk. The mango tree has produced fruit for many years now, and this time of year the mangos are ripe for eating. It has become a common occurrence for Michelle and I to hear small thuds when mangos fall from the tree and land on the ground. The ground around the tree is littered with the small, red, yellow, and green fruit. I have come to find that the mango tree has another quality that makes it a great tree – it’s also a gym.

As one can easily understand, living in a small village means that there isn’t a gym nearby where I can work out. (I actually would find it weird if there was a gym). This hasn’t deterred me from getting exercise though. I’ve been able to run and do push-ups and sit-ups. Running is a particularly good workout because most of the roads in our area are sand, which adds an additional element to the run.

Me Hanging from the Tree

One day a couple of weeks ago I had just gotten back from a run. I was walking around the yard in front of my house cooling down. I looked at the mango tree and noticed a branch that was sitting just high enough that it gave me an idea. I walked to the branch, grabbed it with both hands, and picked my feet off the ground. It was just as I had hoped; the branch was high enough to enable me to do pull-ups. I did a set, which felt good and also amazing considering that I hadn’t done a pull-up in a few months (as I rock climber, I was used doing them almost daily). After that, I did some leg raises while hanging from the branch. It was a nice workout overall. Since then, I have discovered a place where I can do dips in between two branches.

When I first moved into my house, I thought the idea of having a mango tree outside my door was cute. It felt exotic, and it fit perfectly into my idea of what it was going to be like to live in another country; something different than I was used to. After a couple of months, I have come to find that the mango tree is more than what originally caught my eye. I also can’t help but smile as I think about the relationship I’m building with a tree. I told Michelle the other day that it would be cool to hang a hammock from two of its branches. I just need to find and/or make one.

An Unexpected, Teachable Moment

A few weeks ago, I started co-teaching in the classroom. It’s part of my training during the second phase of my Peace Corps tenure. It’s meant to give me experience in the classroom before I take over completely in January when the new school year begins.

Earlier last week, I had an unexpectedly wonderful moment with the grade seven learners. Exams are coming up soon, so I was reviewing the writing process with them. I had gotten to the step in the writing process where they were going to edit their work. I wrote a sample paragraph on the chalkboard riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings. I gave the class a few minutes to make edits to the paragraph. The learners and I then went over the edits together. While we did this, there were a couple of learners who thought I should have put a period (called a full stop in South Africa) before the word “because” in one of the sentences. At first, I didn’t think much of this suggestion; I simply explained that the sentence was written correctly.

Before I moved onto the next part of class, I asked if they had any questions about editing. A learner who’s one of the more involved participants in class raised his hand and asked, “Why didn’t you put a full stop before ‘because’?” This time, instead of saying the sentence is correct, I decided to give more of an explanation. I told him and the other learners that the word offers more information to the first part of the sentence, or, to put it another way, the second half of the sentence is an extension of the initial thought. Then something happened that I wasn’t expecting; the learners asked a follow-up question – “why?”

(Sidebar: Since I started working in the classroom, I haven’t witnessed learners ask probing questions. Usually they accept whatever is given to them. This is partly because there is a deep respect for elders, like teachers, in the Zulu culture. It’s also because learners aren’t challenged to think critically. The focus is more about getting things right. For example, another time when I was teaching, I explained that in English there are many ways of saying the same thing. Virtually all of the learners had a hard time understanding this concept because in their minds to be right is to do everything the same way, including how something is said or written.  Okay, back to the story...)

I responded with a question, “Have you heard that a sentence is a representation of a thought?” This puzzled the learners; what does that mean? Seeing that they didn’t understand, I explained that anytime they wanted to express a thought they used sentences; whether that was in writing or in speech. People who speak or write well use whole sentences, or, to put it another way, whole thoughts. I then gave them examples of what I meant. It didn’t take long for them to get it. Eventually they were giving me examples. They looked pleased with themselves that they understood.

We continued on with class, and the moment passed without further thought for me. It wasn’t until I was home and telling Michelle about my day that this experience stood out as significant. I realized it was an unexpected, teachable moment. What’s more… it was a moment inspired by a learner asking a meaningful question. It’s in these moments that I feel that I am truly making a difference. I don’t doubt, at least I hope, that the learners are learning when I’m giving instruction, but I think the best teachable moments come from the learners themselves. It’s when learners take command of their own learning and make their own meaning. It’s when they construct knowledge on their own and begin building a foundation as lifelong learners.

Computer Lessons

As I am getting more settled into my school, I am beginning to find ways to contribute. One way is by teaching the educators how to use, or become more proficient at using, computers. I started giving one-on-one lessons last week, and there is a short story that I would like to share.

My school has a desktop computer that we have been using for the lessons. Toward the end of the week, I was late for a lesson because something held me back. I rushed to the space where the school’s desktop was kept. I was afraid the educators weren’t going to wait on me, so part of me expected not to see them. When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised to see the educators not only there but they were teaching each other. It was such a cool site to see that I took a picture. I showed them the picture and gave them praise. We share laughed.

Educators Teaching Each Other

The educators didn’t know how good it felt to see them helping each other. This brought a smile to my face, and I hope it made you smile as well.