Swaziland National Library Service
Who we are
The Swaziland National Library Service is the nation's leading documentary resource institution. Under the Ministry of Information Services, we operate eleven public community libraries throughout Swaziland. Our objectives include:
- To provide access to the information resources of the world
- To support and participate in literacy activities and programmes for all age groups
- To create and strengthen reading habits in children from an early age
- To stimulate the imagination and creativity of children and young people as well as foster links with school libraries/schools.
- To provide opportunities for personal creative development
Swaziland is a small, mountainous land-locked kingdom located in southern Africa. Bordered by Mozambique in the east and South Africa on the other sides, it has a subtropical climate. Independent since 1968, we enjoy game-rich expanses and bustling villages with traditional values.
What daily life is like here
The arrival of a child in a Swazi home is a source of great joy to all the members of the family. However, the rights of fatherhood are acquired through the "lobola" or dowry. If no cattle have been given the child remains with the mother's family. Swazi families are usually large, operating in the extended tradition. Children are taught to share both the fruits and problems of life with other family members. Discipline and a share of family responsibility is ingrained in children from an early age.
Fathers are the head of the homestead and his authority is respected and obeyed. Boys are taught by male members of the family to assume male roles and skills and girls learn from their mothers and female relatives. Boys enter regiments in which they will train with others the same age and form close friendships across clan boundaries. When a young man reaches mature warrior status, he begins to consider courtship, after participating in national projects and festivals. Old age is treated with great respect in Swazi Culture and the young respect their parents and grand parents.
Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world. 42% of women are HIV positive and almost half of all deaths of children under five are caused by AIDS. Life expectancy is 40 years of age. Nearly one in three children is an orphan, or 110,000 children in this country of one million people. Children deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, bullying, child abuse, love and relationships.
There are no orphanages or children's homes in Swaziland, so children are left to fend for themselves. Widely held myths and misunderstandings about AIDS have left many girls vulnerable to sexual abuse and infection of HIV. Young children across Swazi are often the head of the household, taking care of younger children.
Why we work with the African Library Project
Part of the mission of the Swaziland National Library Service is to provide learning materials for schools. Our problem was that we did not have enough books to begin to fill the demand. We had a long list of schools requesting books to start libraries, but no books to send them. We contacted ALP with our request and discovered a perfect fit between our need and supporting infrastructure and ALP's ability to provide books.
Our staff have now attended the first two ALP Best Practice Summits. We were so excited to meet other African library leaders with our same passion for library development! We learned so much. It is very helpful to tour other ALP libraries and learn what is working the best in other countries as it invariably works well in Swaziland, too. One exciting idea we brought to Swaziland from Botswana was to include a Culture Corner in every library. These are like a little mini-museum in a corner of the library that holds items from our traditional culture, for example, foods, crafts, clothing, tools, household items, etc. Now all of our libraries have them!
We are looking forward to hosting the next ALP Best Practices in Swaziland in November 2011! We are eager to show off our libraries to the other countries.
How we work with the African Library Project
First, we agree with ALP on how many library projects they can accommodate. In 2009, we invited FUNDZA, a Swazi NGO focused on library development, to join our efforts. There is so much work to be done in library development in Swaziland, we are glad they, too, are able to help. We solicit and select applications from Swazi primary and secondary schools who would like to have a library. We send our list of schools to ALP who matches them with U.S. book drives. When the books arrive, our shipping agent receives the container and our little van starts making trips from the warehouse to the schools to deliver the books. We hold teacher-librarian training sessions to teach the new librarians how to organize the books into libraries and manage them. We train them how to respond to our text messages to track the progress they are making, then we report these results to ALP.
What we have accomplished with ALP
We have received three containers of books from the African Library Project. Together we have begun or improved 101 school libraries and a medical library at the University of Swaziland. We have also toured many libraries with Chris Bradshaw and Carolyn Gannon to check in on their progress. We have enjoyed hosting book drive organizers from Bryn Mawr College and Perkioman School who have come to visit their libraries. We could never have helped all these students without ALP!
Our hopes and wishes
Along with FUNDZA, we'd like to help every Swazi student have access to books at their school. That would change the course of Swazi history!
How you can help
So many Americans have been generous in helping us develop libraries in Swaziland. We hope you do not stop. Teachers and headmasters are constantly asking us for our help and so we must ask for yours. Organize a book drive to help start a library in Swaziland!Our sincere thanks to the people making it happen
We thank the African Library Project and all of its volunteers for making this happen. We know it is a lot of work and we are so glad you are working in Swaziland. All African countries need books and so we are very grateful you have put your trust in us.
To learn more about the African Library Project, explore the website www.africanlibraryproject.org, join the African Library Project mailing list and become an ALP Facebook Fan.
Progress report
Number of ALP libraries in Swaziland: 115
Number of Swaziland National Library Service ALP libraries: 102
Number of readers reached: 120,000
