Rwinkwavu Community Library

Location:  Rwinkwavu, Rwanda

Sponsoring Organization: Ready for Reading

Launch Date: Fall 2012

Students and teachers:  A public community library serving 21,000

Number of devices: 50 Wi-Fi Kindles

Students’ grade level: All age groups

Types of books: storybooks in both English and Kinyarwanda, myths and fables, poetry, reference materials, adult novels, literacy materials in both Kinyarwanda (mother tongue) and English

Deployment model: E-readers in a library/learning center

Do students take devices home: No

The story: The much anticipated opening of the Rwinkwavu Community Library and Learning Center (RCLLC) took place July 13th, 2012. And on our first day of operation 423 people came to see their new space!

Ready for Reading has been working for the past 3 and a half years in partnership with Partners In Health, to build, stock and staff the 7800 sq. ft. library/learning center. Located in an underserved rural area in Eastern Rwanda, adjacent to the Rwinkwavu District Hospital, with a sector population of 21,000, it is the information, education, cultural and social hub for the community. With the restoration of health in the area, people are eager for all the RCLLC has to offer.

Our aim is to provide a friendly and welcoming space for all ages by offering educational opportunities, present literacy in an African context, foster a culture of reading and spark curiosity and imagination. With patrons spanning a broad range of ages, education and literacy levels in Kinyarwanda and English, and Partners in Health and the hospital staff, we have diverse interests and needs for children and adult literature as well as medical/health related reference books in English, Kinyarwanda, French and Kiswahili.