New Library for August 2020!

Hello everyone! I know it’s been a while since I last blogged and kept you all updated on new plans and ideas. My absence was primarily due to starting off at university and wanting to settle down. Additionally, I had planned on becoming involved with philanthropic events at the UW, but I found that the opportunities were not what I had hoped for. So, I decided to refocus on building libraries and work on a new project scheduled for August this year!

Currently, I have planned to build a library in Norton, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is an interesting nation with many unique challenges. In 2005 the President of Zimbabwe enacted an Urban Renewal project to make the capital city more inviting to tourism and business. However, this project included the sweeping of 700,000 homes and businesses of impoverished people. The government sent the people outside of the capital city limits, into towns like Norton - an area forgotten and overlooked by the nation, leaving them deep in poverty, with few job opportunities, and lack of access education. Right now there are no libraries in Norton, and the nation itself only has a few in the capital city which is completely inaccessible to their community.

I am fortunate to have travelled to Zimbabwe to visit Norton in February earlier this year. During my time there, I met with the Simuka Africa Youth Association, who will be the partner organization for this library. The library will have the potential to engage and mobilize Norton to uplift themselves out of the extreme poverty people face there.

The library will be self-sustaining once built, offering office services such as printing, scanning, typing, faxing, binding and phone charging to offset the wage of the librarian. This project is also special in that it will be eco-friendly - all the power will be sourced from solar energy.

Now, I am putting all the logistics in place for the library and fundraising to fund the project.

Stay tuned for updates on the library!