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The Problem
A WORLD WITHOUT LIBRARIES
In America, it is hard to think of a place without libraries or that people have to pay to go to public schools. But many places in our world don’t have libraries and make little kids like me pay for school. Every year during my Around the World Read-A-Thon, my friends in other parts of the world write to Momma saying they can’t afford to read with us, or they search for days just to find a book or two. |
Around the World Read-A-Thon reminds Momma and me each year that libraries aren’t everywhere and that children of all ages are starving for literacy. My daddy’s home country, Gabon, doesn’t even have one (1) library based on this map. I told Momma I wanted to change that! I want kids like me to be able to read books, play, run around, and eat food in a safe place—a library. I found many other people doing the same thing around the world. Unfortunately, very few programs are on the continent of Africa, and none are in Gabon. I am on a mission to change that!
My goal is to create a literacy tour across Africa and the world, building libraries and stocking them with lots of BOOKS! Our kick-off will be in Gabon—my daddy’s home country. As a superhero for libraries, I want to be a light for children starving for literacy and a champion of reading around the world. Reading changes everything and opens your mind to a world beyond what you see around you. I hope Learning is Fun Libraries can do that for my friends and family around the world.
My goal is to create a literacy tour across Africa and the world, building libraries and stocking them with lots of BOOKS! Our kick-off will be in Gabon—my daddy’s home country. As a superhero for libraries, I want to be a light for children starving for literacy and a champion of reading around the world. Reading changes everything and opens your mind to a world beyond what you see around you. I hope Learning is Fun Libraries can do that for my friends and family around the world.
I want kids like me to be able to read books, play, run around, and eat food in a safe place—a library.
— Justyn Boumah
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The SolutionEducational Bottle Infrastructure
The Hug It Forward organization is a great example of what we can do when local community volunteers, as well as volunteers from around the world, come together. We build something great! Hug It Forward states, “We facilitate education and awareness around improved trash management…using eco-bricks, which are plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash. During the project process, entire communities come together to build a more environmentally responsible educational space for their future.” |
This FREE model uses eco-bricks to create educational spaces, allowing for Learning is Fun Libraries to easily come to life. I love the Educational Bottle Infrastructure model because 1) it helps the environment by cleaning up the trash in communities, and 2) it increases education globally by providing children a safe place to learn.
Did you know? 80% of South African students live without libraries! EIGHTY PERCENT, WOW, that’s a LOT! Can you imagine African communities, like small villages or small countries like Gabon? In this library map, there are 11 countries in Africa without libraries. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is helping African communities through their Global Libraries program. It mainly focuses on physical health and fighting diseases. Momma says, “Saving a dying child is first, but second, what type of life will they live? ”Well, that is the million-dollar LIBRARY QUESTION! I want to give children life after death. Learning is fun. Libraries will do just that!
In Learning is Fun Libraries, I want children to play, read stories, have BIG and small books, DVDs, food, and have fun running around. Educational bottle infrastructure is made possible through global and local volunteers, like Peace Corps or church mission trips, and is very inexpensive to make but will last a lifetime through the community. It costs only $7,000 and takes about 6,500 eco-bricks to complete. How many life-changing “LEARNING IS FUN LIBRARIES” could we build on the second largest continent in the WORLD? A LOT! Will you help us change a community today?
Did you know? 80% of South African students live without libraries! EIGHTY PERCENT, WOW, that’s a LOT! Can you imagine African communities, like small villages or small countries like Gabon? In this library map, there are 11 countries in Africa without libraries. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is helping African communities through their Global Libraries program. It mainly focuses on physical health and fighting diseases. Momma says, “Saving a dying child is first, but second, what type of life will they live? ”Well, that is the million-dollar LIBRARY QUESTION! I want to give children life after death. Learning is fun. Libraries will do just that!
In Learning is Fun Libraries, I want children to play, read stories, have BIG and small books, DVDs, food, and have fun running around. Educational bottle infrastructure is made possible through global and local volunteers, like Peace Corps or church mission trips, and is very inexpensive to make but will last a lifetime through the community. It costs only $7,000 and takes about 6,500 eco-bricks to complete. How many life-changing “LEARNING IS FUN LIBRARIES” could we build on the second largest continent in the WORLD? A LOT! Will you help us change a community today?
It's Possible!
Is Learning is Fun Libraries possible? YES! With the Educational Bottle Infrastructure model and volunteers, Learning is Fun Libraries is more than possible! Click the button below to find all the ins and outs on Educational Bottle Infrastructure. We are better together!
Project History
- 2021: Home rehab and creating Learn & Play Space, aka a Justyn Boumah Library, for a local family in Historic Westside of Las Vegas, NV.
- 2022—300: Created Learn & Play Space, aka a Justyn Boumah Library for Ukrainian Refugees in Warsaw, Poland.
- 2023—250: Created the FIRST English Learn & Play Space, aka the Justyn Boumah Library for children in Libreville, Gabon-Central Africa. Also, we conducted our first library fair in East Las Vegas for low-income families, giving them books, tablets, backpacks, and school supplies.
Demographic Served
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5%
Las Vegas Historic Westside
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90%
Overseas
(Ukrainian Refugees in Poland & Libreville, Gabon in Central Africa) |
5%
East Las Vegas
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Other Super Heroes for Libraries Around the World
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Let's Build Together
Libraries change lives. Libraries change communities. Libraries change our world. Libraries create change! |
Room to Read
Did you know? There are no libraries in the country of Gabon, where my dad is from, but there are 1,800 libraries in South Africa, that’s a lot of libraries! |
Read Global
“To educate a woman is to educate a nation.”- African Proverb. Libraries help us to educate our global communities. |
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One Special Book
One special BIG book can bring joy into a community and change the way its members feel about reading. Watch this short video and see how. |
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is partnering with Room to Read and READ Global to help bring about literacy change around the world. |
Hear Their Stories
Libraries bring about change in many communities globally. Watch this video to see how women learn business. |
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