Malawian Libraries

Building Malawi partner with The National Library Service of Malawi to bring libraries to the communities that need them the most. 

If you would like to raise money to fund a library then please contact us and let us know. Typically an entire library costs in the region of £15000. On average each library welcomes 146,000 people per year. We have had people request that we oversee the building of a library for specific schools and regions in Malawi. If you are able to raise this entire amount then we would be happy to manage the process thereafter.

To date Building Malawi has built four libraries in Lilongwe, Malawi. The libraries have been a resounding success and they receive approximately 400 visitors per day which is an unbelievable 146,000 visits per year.

In the video below Project Manager Tom Bowden gives you a tour inside the first library we built:

 

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National Library Service Malawi

Each of these libraries we have built is stocked and run by the National Library Service of Malawi. The libraries are all located right in the heart of poor residential areas. This makes it possible for people to visit a library without the expense of transport. The National Library Service of Malawi source the majority of the books for the libraries from Book Aid International. 

 

Tom with National Librarian Gray Nyali

  

Library 1: Falls Satellite Library, Lilongwe. Built in 2005 with money raised from fundraising events Blues and Rock in the Garden and North Piddle Rocks, UK.

 

Library 2: Kaps Satellite Library, Lilongwe. Built in 2009 with money raised from fundraising events Blues and Rock in the Garden and North Piddle Rocks, UK.

Library 3: Lingadzi Academy Satellite Library, Lilongwe. Built in 2012 with money raised from an Accenture, UK employee contribution scheme. Our thanks to Darrell Hayward.

Library 4: BUILT! Chankhomi School Satellite Library, Kasungu. Built with money raised by Highland Road United Church Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Our thanks to Linda Watt. See pictures here

 

Book Aid International

The National Library Service is funded by the Malawi government and they source many of the books from UK charity Book Aid International. The National Library Service are able to request the books that they want and as a result the quality is comparable to books that you find in the UK. They are not forced to take the discarded books from the UK! The arrangement with the government means that library service have the budget to employ staff and manage their libraries.

 

The arrangement with Book Aid International means that they have top quality books at their disposal. The problem that they face is that they do not have the budget to build the library buildings. This is where Building Malawi were able to help. We have funded the buildings. It has been a perfect marriage. We simply pay this one off cost and take care of occasional maintenance and the National Library Service run the library. 

   

Can you raise some money to contribute toward the £15,000 cost of a Library?

This is an area of the charity that we are really looking to push forward. A library building costs approximately £15,000 to build. This includes meshed windows (to ensure books are not passed outside), security doors and a full compliment of bookshelves.

 

Thank you Accenture,UK and Highland Road United Church, Canada

We would like to thank the employees at Accenture who have made a donation of this sum to build a new satellite library within the compounds of our new community sports school in Muzu, Lilongwe and to Highland Road United Church, Canada for donating money for a new library in Kasungu. It is truly spectacular that people can be so generous. Access to educational materials is so desperately needed in Malawi and so gratefully welcomed that everyone that has supported these ventures should be very proud.

 

    
    

 

Please come and visit our libraries in Malawi!

We welcome everyone that would like to visit our projects in Malawi to contact us. We would love to show you the libraries and all of our other projects. Perhaps you would like to raise money to go toward a library or another of our building projects. If you or your company would like to fund an entire library then please contact us and we would be happy to make it happen for you. Perhaps this might also be a wonderful idea for anyone looking to leave a legacy after the death of a loved one. Personally I would love to think that I would contribute to the lives of so many people after I am gone.

Help us build better futures in Malawi! Contact Building Malawi here to learn more or volunteer.

 

 


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Hundreds of Photos from Lingadzi Academy Now On Facebook!

Friday 14th December 2012

Hi everyone, Building Malawi has been extremely fortunate to welcome many visitors and volunteers to Lingadzi Academy in Malawi. These wonderful folk have posted photos to our Facebook Page. Please check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/BuildingMalawi/photos_stream Be sure to like us on Facebook too! We would love it if you could visit Lingadzi Academy. We do not charge our volunteers. For more information check out our Volunteers page here: http://www.buildingmalawi.com/volunteer.html Best wishes from the entire team at Building Malawi! [caption id="attachment_103" align="alignnone" width="301" caption="Kids at Lingadzi Academy earlier this year"]Kids at Lingadzi Academy earlier this year[/caption]

 
 

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