Dear Readers of Se7en + 1: You Have Built this Library Book by Book…

It all started with World Book Giving Day… and a country where millions of children do not have access to a book. We can’t change a whole country but we can make a difference book by book!!! And we asked our readers to help us build a library for a school in a small community with no access to books.

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And I have to say – I totally love our readers, I love how you all jump in and help!!! I don’t know who exactly to thank but the parcels keep rolling in – all I can say is: “Thank you all, for opening up your hearts and sending books from all corners of the world… you have made a huge impact in these children’s lives, a life changing impact.

Here is a quick overview of the Project:

  1. Post #1: World Book Giving Day – We Need Your Help To Build Another Library…
  2. Post #2: International World Book Giving Day – A Progress Report.
  3. Post #3: Se7en + 1 Are Really Building a Library for Lesotho.
  4. Post #4: Thank You All – Our Library is Growing Book by Book…

We thought we would show you exactly where all those books are going… On Friday we went to visit the school to take some photographs and show you around… we loaded up a few boxes of books that folk had given us…

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And we headed for the open road…

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The place where I normally show you blue skies…

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But it wasn’t a blue skies kind of day!!!

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It was a meet the cows kind of day…

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And an arrive in the township kind of day…

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Where the comfort of home takes on a whole new meaning… and the privilege of books is just way beyond dreaming…

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And at the end of the road…

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A lot of little people looking at us through the school fence…

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And an oasis, literally a little haven…

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And we off loaded dozens of books…

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Then we got down to the serious business of making friends…

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And a tour of the school…

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And their classroom…

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And their routine…

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Corners to play…

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And a reading nook…

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And Lessons…

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And school equipment…

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And art to be proud of…

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And paper trays for projects…

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And shoes at the door… just like home!!!

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And the vegetable garden…

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And their medicine plant – and I can not remember the name… but they use it for tummy aches and fevers and sore throats and…

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Playgrounds are always good for making friends…

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And pulling faces…

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And lots of laughs…

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And lots of happy little faces… dying to have their pictures taken…

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And a willing photographer…

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More than one photographer…

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Heaps of playing…

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And the language of soccer…

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He who has the ball will not be a alone for very long…

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And fixing of swings…

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For swinging of course…

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Some really wild swinging…

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And giggling tumbles and pile-ups…

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Boys and their wheels…

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And playing tag… as one does…

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And we left them with piles of books… Old books new books, big books small books, kids books, baby books, chapter books, picture books… and even grown up books… Dozens and dozens of books. Their special room for the library is going to be painted in the next couple of weeks and bookshelves are going up… and it is just going to be fabulous… This library is going to be great, they have a local librarian to help them so that the grown up books and the older children’s books can be used by the community and the younger books for the school children. What started as a little spark to begin a pre-primary story book shelf is turning into a community library… exciting times… and thank you all for making this dream come true!!!

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And then it was time to go…

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And back on the open road…

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And nearly home…

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There is Still Time to Help, If You Would Like too?

Step 1: Select a Book or Books…

  • You can search through your books for gently used books that your children have outgrown or no longer love.
  • You can buy a book or two with your children and package them up.
  • You can shop on-line at Amazon or locally at Kalahari and ship directly.
  • If you would like to buy a Xhosa (local language) book, then here is a link to help you.

Step 2: Contact us. You will need to contact us for the shipping address to send the books you have chosen.

Step 3: Let us Know All About the Books You Chose: We would love to post a picture of the books you have sent, if you have a photograph that’s fabulous but if you don’t then just send us the titles and we will find photographs for you!!!

There you go… I hope you are as excited as we are about this project… and we promise to show you the finished working library in a couple of weeks!!!

23 Replies to “Dear Readers of Se7en + 1: You Have Built this Library Book by Book…”

  1. What a wonderful, organized, well run school. It is amazing what can be achieved when dedicated, caring and committed people get together. And well done all the kind people who sent in all those books from far and wide and helped to make this ‘ library dream’ come true. A heart warming read.

  2. Hay Granny Ant, It is a fabulous school, really a ray of sunshine in the community!!! We we were so thrilled to visit and spend time there and so excited to be able to help them to create a library!!! I am so thrilled with the fabulous response from our readers, they never fail to surprise me!!!

  3. So lovely to see those piles of book, where they are so needed! Well done!

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