Segenat Foundation

Our first cloth Pocket Library has arrived in Ethiopia.  We decided to test drive it at one of our favorite schools:  Fre Sewat, the site of the Dr. Thomas Hooyman Memorial Library and Media Center.   It was an immediate success.  We were soon surrounded by hundreds of children who clamored to read and to have books read to them.  The teachers appreciated the mobility of the Pocket Library.  Books could be transported from the library to the individual classrooms.  The colorful design excited the children and encouraged more reading.

We were introduced to the concept of the Pocket Libraries by our friend Anne Pellowsi from the International Board on Books for Young People.  Anne visited the Segenat Children and Youth Library last October to demonstrate the concept of producing cloth books in local languages.  Cloth is an ideal medium for making one of a kind books in local languages since cloth is easily available and does not require any specialized equipment.

The United States Board on Books for Young People has volunteered to produce additional Pocket Libraries and these will be shipped to the US later in the month.  These will easily be replicated by our fine tailors, here in Mekelle.  The Pocket Libraries will be filled with locally-produced books and distributed to leaders in neighborhoods and in rural areas.  They can be hung on a wall, in a classroom, or as demonstrated here, outdoors on a tree.   It appears that they are definitely a hit!