Library Services in Gwanda
The Edward Ndlovu Memorial Trust, provides library services in Gwanda district of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. According to the 2012 census Gwanda town has a population of 20,227. It is estimated that this number has now reached 25,000. In 2000 the Trust opened a purpose-built library, the Edward Ndlovu Memorial Library, on land donated by the municipal council, and a second wing, for children, was added in 2009. Funding is now being sought for a third wing.
Them library in the town of Gwanda serves as a base for the rural outreach to District. The organization provides book boxes to 85 primary schools. In Zimbabwe this includes ECD and grades 1 to 7, covering ages 4 to 12. Through this programme we are reaching approximately two thirds of all the children of this age group in the district, providing 28,000 library books to 29,000 children.
Book Boxes to Rural Zimbabwe
The Study Circle program, which started in 2008, is not simply a programme for studying. The idea is that a group of adults come together to undertake some form of production which will generate income. Using materials from the book boxes delivered to the rural elementary schools, and with the help of our community officer, they learn how to work democratically to make group decisions and undertake production together, while gaining technical knowledge about their chosen activity
Community Study Circles
Workshops and Training
Our goal of promoting a reading culture and giving access to information for Zimbabweans is to be achieved, by working with those we rely on to help administer our services, these are primarily teachers and headmasters of schools we work with when we provide book boxes.