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Organization	Friends of African Village Libraries (FAVL)
Region	Burkina Faso
Website	Website
Facebook	Facebook
Twitter	@Twitter
ProjectLeader	Michael Kevane

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This project will expand on the earlier project that provided 15 picture books written by popular Ivorian author Fatou Keita. Kids in Burkina love these books and often come to village libraries just for them. They portray situations that occur in their neighborhoods, are written in simple French, and include beautiful illustrations on each page. In 2020, FAVL hopes to provide 50 appropriate girl-centered and young adult books for young women to 60 community and public libraries.

Challenge

Many books in villages libraries are donations from foreign countries. While these books are important reading materials for the communities, they often include subjects that are not relevant to life in a rural African village. Patrons sometimes find them difficult to relate to and understand because they contain cultural elements and vocabulary that do not exist in Burkina Faso. When reading materials closely relate to their lives, people are more likely to improve their literacy skills.

Long-Term Impact

This project enables FAVL to provide appropriate books to 60 village libraries in Burkina Faso. Because the books reflect their own lives and culture, kids will be encouraged to read more and more frequently visit their village library. Research shows that literacy skills improve with reading. With their increased reading fluency, kids will want to read other books and study more in school. Ultimately, this could help them stay in school longer.