Impact Children's and Youth Library

The Impact Children and Youth Library Association (ICYLA) was legally registered by the Ministry of Justice in April 2005 as a local non-government organization (NGO). It commenced its service on December 2005 through financial support received from the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. in Australia. The preliminary funding from the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. has now ceased and other funding sources are being actively sought.

The primary goal of the organization has been to provide a safe and positive place for children from low-income families to come and learn, do homework, study, enjoy quiet reading time and engage in constructive extra-curricular activities, achieving their full potential and succeeding in their education. This role is expanding to include education for families, educational sponsorship of children and other physical assistance (such as the provision of bathing and clothes) when required.


Older students hold a discussion group on the library steps - the library is frequently full to overflowing



Books sent from Australia through the Bank of I.D.E.A.S.

The target group for Impact is the general student population (aged 4-19) in the Kirkos sub-city area. Since its establishment it has managed to collect, from local and international sources, over 6,000 children’s and teenage books on a large range of topics, mostly in English. Over the first 20 months more than 77,000 visits have been made to the library by children of the area. During the summer program over 300 children per day attend the library while over 220 patrons per day now are direct beneficiaries of these collections.


Reading stories on a Saturday - I really enjoyed this inter-action with the kids



Kirkos is one of the largest school districts in Addis Ababa, and we have found a clearly demonstrated need in this community for a library. In this area there are 50-60 kindergartens, 37 elementary and junior high schools (from grade 1-8) and three high schools, with a total of 50,700 students. Of all these students only the high school students have libraries in their schools. Very few of the students in the Kirkos sub-city have direct access to libraries, and even these libraries are poorly equipped and generally have out-of-date books and a lack of professional staff members. They are frequently over crowded, have problems with book shortages, and lack an adequate supply of books specifically for children and young adults.




Oral evidence from the children who attend the library suggests that often, exposure to the library provides their first model of reading and learning as a desirable activity. This has assisted them to develop their reading skills and cultivate study patterns.

Some children initially attend only because their friends come to the library. However, they then establish reading and study habits and have access to resources to increase their general knowledge and support their education.

The library, which is open 6 days a week for 10-12 hours a day, provides a safe and positive recreation opportunity, which was not previously present in this area. Children and young people can use the library to meet with their peers, develop social connections and skills, and also develop their leadership skills.

The library staff provides positive role models; they make all the children feel at home and welcome, and allow them all the opportunity to contribute to making the library their own.


A young student happily studies in the safe and comfortable library environment


Everyone pitches in to get the scoria into the tent to expand the library space. Many young people volunteer to assist in running and developing the library in the way they wish to see it move forward. The library staff are powerful mentors for others.



Mrs. Rodriguez, who was initially the volunteer Project Manager at Impact, assisted in securing funding for a computer resource room, as well as for an audiovisual room, from the UNESCO Information and Communications Program. Eighty-five students have taken basic training on how to use computers; over 160 students have been trained to use the Internet; over 40 children attend the weekly video shows; and 100 students attended each summer tutorial program given by young student volunteers, which has been run twice. Twenty-five students were involved in a summer drama and art club initiated by the students themselves. Twenty-five students have competed in a Q&A competition prepared by volunteer students. Students also come to play a variety of indoor recreational and educational games.




The large numbers of young people who attend the Impact Library daily to study in an atmosphere conducive to learning, who take advantage of every opportunity offered to expand their knowledge, and who observe positive roles models in the young people who operate and volunteer at the library, demonstrate the significant need for this type of facility for Ethiopia’s next generation of leaders.

Children from low-income families do not necessarily have access to the facilities and resources required to be high achievers at school and in life. A clean, safe environment that encourages the positive values of integrity and hard work allows these children to persist in reaching their full potential.


Every afternoon the library is crowded with young people engaged in study




As well, the young people are provided with a safe environment for entertainment and relaxation and given opportunities to be involved in a wide range of activities to which they may not be otherwise exposed. These include learning games, drama, arts activities and movies. They can meet and safely interact with their peers in pursuits that encourage positive attitudes and an expansion of their interests, as well as supporting their school activities.

A young patron takes advantage of all the library has to offer - and doesn't the smile say it all?

The library intends to continue with its range of foundation activities, including:
- Access to educational and recreational materials
- Internet access to support learning
- Film screenings
- Summer tutorial programs
- English classes when possible
- Drama activities
- Computer training
- Providing opportunities for young people to volunteer

The library also has plans to expand its services and activities to include:
- The sponsorship of schooling for extremely disadvantaged children
- The provision of an after-school small meal (milk and a piece of fruit or other food) for children
- The commencement of both a pregnant women’s and a mother’s group to enable them to make social connections and to discuss and learn about:
# Baby care

#Infant health
#Child & family health
#Parenting skills
#Importance of reading

#Nutrition
#Cooking
#HIV/AIDS
- Storytelling and reading sessions for children in both English and Amharic
- An increased range of summer tutorials
- Development of the tent annex to provide seating and shelving, and so to provide additional space for all library activities
- The publication of picture story books in Amharic

When the library becomes sustainable and the model is proven, expansion to other areas will be considered.

The estimated annual cost for the first year of the project was approximately US$30,000; however the library operated on a restricted budget of $20,032, with the staff reducing the amount by not taking any pay so as to allow the project to proceed. In the second year the estimated need was less than that amount, or approximately US$18,600, however staff are still receiving extremely limited salaries, and at times working on a volunteer basis. We plan to initiate various projects that will in time help us recover our costs. The main project to support the library will be the startup of a service enterprise – Ethical Business Services – offering secretarial and other business services, Internet services, book and DVD rental and stationery sales. A startup budget of a little over US$8,000 is required to make this a reality.

The library fills a desperate and demonstrated need in Addis Ababa and operates through the passionate support and hard work of a small and dedicated group of young people who believe that a library really can make a significant and long-lasting contribution to improving the lives of young people. Henok, Eden, Helena and Konjit are to be congratulated for making this dream a reality and for making such a difference in the lives of so many.

If you wish to help secure the future of this vital project please feel free to contact me for more details at lyndall.osborne@gmail.com

Will post more soon


Lyndall

The streets of Addis

A sleeping place is anywhere you can find a spot



Two young boys light a fire of rubbish in the early morning

The pre-dawn air in Addis Ababa is cool and a full moon is setting in the west as in the east the sky slowly lightens. We set out at 11.30 local time (5.30am in standard time) to drive through the city before the street people have woken or been woken by the many police strolling through the streets. Everywhere, bundles of plastic and blankets cover sleeping bodies, which lie in rows on footpaths, on the road and in the centre of roundabouts and road dividers. Some sleep amongst piles of rubbish, some huddled together for warmth and protection and some without covering on the bare stones, alone.

We pass a pack of street dogs also curled together for warmth and in their animal innocence it seems obvious that they have a simpler, easier life than their human counterparts just metres away.

We take the same route we took the first morning we came to the streets, when the enormity and tragedy of what I was seeing made it impossible to get it out of my mind and yet impossible to write about or even to talk about. It’s earlier today than it was then and so there are even more bundles still wrapped on the footpath like so much rubbish left out for removal.

As on the first morning we once again we approach the bus station; once again there are immense queues and crowds of people either going to or coming from the country on the battered and overburdened buses that pull in and out in clouds of black smoke. As we approach, a group of women and children who have recently packed up their beds cross the road in front of us. Sometimes driving the streets in the day we see a few women who sit together in the same place, begging with their children crawling or running around their legs. If begging doesn’t suffice to feed the children I can only imagine what is needed to be able to live. Ermias confirms my thoughts.

Potential passengers and street people walk around the piles of rubbish in the streets, both avoiding where possible the many police also patrolling on foot. Donkeys thread their way through the throng, not all are laden at this early hour, but all are constantly goaded by their owners to keep them moving. Men walk by with huge bundles of cardboard carefully balanced on their heads and down a side street a flock of goats, or maybe fat-tailed sheep, are herded by a young boy.

All around the buses and taxis, street dwellers able and disabled, young and old, beg, or sell small items; we see one young man running alongside a bus, finalising a deal with a passenger for a newspaper. Around the bus station the constant blare of horns, music and the cries of people shreds the cool and morning air. The clouds of black smoke from the ageing vehicles stings our noses, as does the stench of the piles of rubbish on the footpaths. Addis in the early morning assails all the senses.

Other street boys begin to set up their shoe shine stands, getting ready to catch any early customers. Some of them notice the ferangi in the passing car and wave or smile, asking for their photo to be taken. Further down the street a group of boys play soccer in the road. I ask are they street boys? Ermias says maybe some of them, but others will be ordinary young men who have no other space in which to play. As we approach another street “boy”, older, sees me taking photos and, pulling his blankets around him, he begins to dance, signaling and beckoning me to take some shots while he performs. I get out of the car further down to take more photos, street people still sleep on the footpath under a wall decorated with art, the boys kicking the football around them. One long kick comes my way and to cheers and laughter I boot it back into the game. A few final shots and we are once again on our way, leaving behind the ironic image of the art work and the homeless, a tattered blanket wrapping a sleeping bundle at the foot of a painted road leading to home.

Home?


We come to an open space in front of an Orthodox Church. Many homeless and beggars gather at churches and mosques, hoping no doubt that the faithful fresh from their prayers may be more generous in spirit. A fire is burning on the bare dirt and huddled close to it are two young boys, one of whom looks to be about 11. Something about the pair really stabs at my heart and I ask Ermi to stop so that I can offer some money and also maybe get a photo. The youngest boy comes to the car while the other hides his head. He is cold, dirty, bare foot, and I can see where tears have tracked through the dust on his face. I ask can I take his picture and he agrees, somehow producing a smile that could light the most remote corner of anyone’s heart. This picture says so much, is full of so much meaning for me that it becomes my most treasured of African images.

The light is growing stronger and fewer sleeping forms line the footpaths and roads. Once again I am in emotional overload and we decide its time for breakfast and coffee. And just like the first morning it’s difficult to eat much and the conversation is subdued and desultory. But despite the challenging few hours I’ve just spent I know that I will always be grateful and never forget that I’ve seen this side of Addis, that I’ve been able to better understand just one of the facets of this complex city and this beguiling country.

Addis Ababa has street people estimated variously between 100,000 and 400,000 – I can’t seem to find a definitive figure. They are people of all ages and both genders, some as young as three, others obviously in their later years. The young and women are particularly open to abuse of all types. Many spend their days chewing chud, a mild narcotic that helps the days pass in a dream. Some make a subsistence living selling lottery tickets, tissues or other small items. Many young men work at shining shoes. Others simply beg.

A variety of circumstances see lives come to this desperate pass. Over 50% of Ethiopia’s population is aged between 15 and 24. Many young people are orphaned, often due to HIV/AIDS, sometimes they are forced out of home through second marriages and failed family relationships or the inability of other family members to care for them. Rural people are drawn to the city in hard times seeking work, even though unemployment is high, some say 60%.
The organisation with which I was associated in Addis, Youth Impact Ethiopia, runs a program for young men on the street, taking 12 at a time into residential care for 6 months and providing not only formal schooling but also concentrated lessons in integrity, work ethics, self-esteem and discipline. Once the program is complete places are found in vocational schools and support is continued until the men find work. The program, based on love, understanding, developing moral strength and self discipline, works miracles in the lives of these young people, something I have seen with my own eyes. The program is deep, not broad, but is proving that this approach has significant and permanent results for individuals. In future, if the ripple effect comes into play, it may also profoundly affect Ethiopian society.

Youth Impact can be contacted at: ermi_zel@yahoo.com (Ermias) or konij2002@yahoo.com (Konjit). Any assistance would make a significant difference.


Love

Lyndall