Christian Community Foundation (CCF)
Introduction
Bududa is in Eastern Uganda, on the hilly slopes of Mt. Elgon near Kenya. Christian Community Foundation (CCF) is a community-based organisation with a nursery school, primary school and a library. The nursery school and library are within the compound of John Mark Walimbwa, the director of CCF. Both the primary and nursery schools offer free education to some orphans and poor children. There are currently 113 pupils in the primary schools (divided by seven classes) and 60 in the nursery school (divided into two groups). The library mainly has primary school textbooks, some donated from the United States, and some on loan from nearby primary schools. One of the main uses of the library is that of Library Hour, where pupils come to read and be read to.
Community and schools
CCF was started by a group of ten locals, mainly women. The first project, in 1996, was a nursery school. Due to demand for quality education, CCF built a primary school in 2001, and has since gradually grown to offer schooling up to Primary 7.
CCF Library was started by volunteers under the nursery school in a bid to promote reading culture and improve students’ performance in the community. The library building was erected in 2006 by John Mark Walimbwa, the director and owner of the compound.
History
CCF was started by a group of ten locals, mainly women. The first project, in 1996, was a nursery school. Due to demand for quality education, CCF built a primary school in 2001, and has since gradually grown to offer schooling up to Primary 7.
CCF Library was started by volunteers under the nursery school in a bid to promote reading culture and improve students’ performance in the community. The library building was erected in 2006 by John Mark Walimbwa, the director and owner of the compound.
Activities and programmes
Every day of the week has one or two one-hour slots where pupils, mainly from CCF primary school, come to read, be read to and participate in reading competitions. P6 and P7 pupils also come for essay writing competitions during library hour.
Facilities and furniture
The library building is inside the compund of the library director, and measures 18 by 15 feet. The furniture includes:
• 2 bookshelves
• 2 tables
• 1 librarian’s desk
• 1 display desk
• 3 benches
• 1 cupboard
• 1 floor mat
Materials
The total stock is reported to be 451 books, with an estimate of:
Western 200 Primary school textbooks (some titles in multiple copies) 60 Ugandan primary school textbooks (half of which on loan from primary schools) 50 School storybooks 20 Easy readers 2 Dictionaries 30 Reference books (mainly “World Book”)
African 40 Easy readers 20 Youth novels 200 Past primary leaving exams
Staff
There are two volunteer librarians apart from the director. The volunteer Evelyn Nandutu is an O level graduate who works every day, and and the volunteer Ivan Walimbwa, as medical student, and works during holidays. John Mark supervises and monitors activities and coordinates with schools and other public relations activities.
Management
There is a library committee with seven people that meet once every three months, or when necessary, to review progress and plan ahead.
Use and Users
The library is mainly used by primary pupils from the CCF primary school, who come for the daily library hours, as well as on their own.
There are about ten casual users every week, and especially teachers come to borrow books to prepare lessons. In school holidays there are particularly many casual users, with more than 100 registered in July 2011.
Record Keeping
All the books are written down in an inventory book, currently totalling 451 books. A separate book is kept for keeping track of borrowed books.
Rules and Regulations
The library opens around 8am on Monday through Saturday. On weekdays it closes around 5 pm, and on Saturday at noon. There is no membership fee or any other fee.
Depending on the book, a borrower can keep the book for two or three days. There has been a problem of users not returning books, but there is no fee or penalty for that.
The only rule (though not written anywhere) is that no one should take a book out of the library during library hour.