Children enjoying books at the library.
This month I offer a series of short comments and photos of libraries assisted since our project began in September, 2008. The first ones are community libraries in Yangon, Insein, Pyapon, Bogalay, and Monywe-ywa. They are diverse as the cities, towns and village they serve. My purpose is to show prospective donors and members of our tour group this December more specifically what current donors are accomplishing with the 220,000 books dispatched this year, and what we can hope to achieve in the coming year with accelerating momentum.
Chit Maung Library - A model community library serving children and adults with books, English and computer lessons, and music instruction. Supported by local leaders, with assistance from MBAPF/NRL.
Dr. Chit Maung Library is the first in our series. It is a model community library with professional staff, inviting space, well-maintained shelving and reading areas, a fine collection of books suitable for all users–from KG through adult readers–as well as up-t0-date periodicals. Volunteers are invited to teach English, music and computer skills in rooms provided for that service, and all apart from the schools, both public and private that serve this large community surrounding Myanmar Institute of Theology, a fully accredited college that has served Karen and minority Christian groups around the country, and more recently has added business, social science, and computer science programs to the college. No doubt the presence of faculty and mature students living in Insein contribute to the high quality of this library, as does the financial support of expatriates living in the States, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and other foreign countries. In a time when foreign criticism of governance is commonplace, this community represents what can be achieved in attaining international standards by concentrating on service to library users.
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