Hia Community Library Project

The 2000 Education for All assessment revealed that the majority of schools in sub Saharan Africa possessed no library. The problem is even worse in the remote rural villages where textbooks and other learning resources are often lacking. According to Makotsi 2005, though Africa accounts for 12% of the world’s population, it produces merely 2% of the world’s books, barely sufficient to reduce literacy levels in its population.

The Ghana Library Board has 62 libraries throughout Ghana. According to GLB report, its facilities offer potential access to 25% of the population. This leaves 75% of the population with no potential access to libraries. Majority of rural village communities, including school children, fall within the 75% with no access to libraries. Community libraries in Ghana historically have provided the needed library access for communities where the GLB services are unavailable, however there remain majority of rural villages that have no access to library facilities.

This problem needs to be addressed if any progress towards the MDGs is to be achieved. Hia, a rural village in the Ashanti region, is no exception. A needs assessment visit to the village revealed that most of the children had no idea what a library is. None of the school children had used a library in their lifetime. Lack of access to books and other learning resources for the school children hinder their learning ability and limit their opportunities to broaden their horizon for personal and community development.

A community library will not only encourage a reading culture and improve literacy levels but will also serve as a resource center and vital information source for the community.

The Hia Community Library Project is located at Hia, a rural village about 14 kilometres from Obuasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The project was initiated as a result of the Needs Assessment visit in December 2007 which was funded by International Organisation for Migration (IOM)’s MIDA Ghana Health Project.

Since its initial inception, many exciting partnerships have been formed, all in a bid to secure funds and resources to complete the project which is expected to impact on the learning achievement of underprivileged school children at Hia and its surrounding villages. It is envisaged that about fourteen surrounding villages will be accessing the library.

Update

The project has since received funding from Ghana International Foundation, Ghana School Aid UK and the Ghana Nurses Association UK.

In 2009, a baseline study was conducted by Rita De-Graft on access to books and the reading habits of primary and Junior High School children in the only government school at Hia.

A sample of 35 pupils was selected at random from primary 4, 5, 6, Junior High 1, 2 and 3.

Key findings of the small study were:

• About 60% of the children have no access to reading books.
• The 40% who had access to any reading material had access only to school textbooks.
• The identified textbooks are Science, English, Religious and Moral Studies, Citizenship Education and Twi.
• Other reading material was handwritten notes taken by the children at school.
• About 75% read at home and at school.
• About 20% read only at school.
• About 75% read because of school work.
• About 18% read for school work and leisure.
• About 6.5% read for leisure.
• The average duration of reading for a pupil, apart from school hours, was less than one hour a week.
• Only one pupil has ever used a library in their life time.
• All liked the idea of having a library in their community and look forward to using it to enhance their learning.
• Resources preferred are subject specific textbooks. Dictionaries, computers, fan. TV, pens, story books and notebooks.
• In line with the objectives of the library project, a similar study will be conducted six months after the library has been operational to assess any impact made.

It has taken over nine years of advocacy and collaboration championed by Rita De-Graft and Mrs Mary Owusu on a voluntary basis; making frequent visits to Hia and engaging all funding partners and the local Library Committee and the community to see the project to its fruition.

The last visit to Hia was in November 2017. The enclosed photos show how far the project has come. It is envisaged that the library will be opened by the end of this year.

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