Book appeal for the Library Project Vanuatu

Redlands schools and groups are expected to begin their own book collection efforts in the weeks leading up to a Library Project Book Sort Day on March 24.

Cleveland District State High School chaplain Neale Collier said the Redlands community had been enthusiastic about the project in the past.

“The response has been phenomenal,” Mr Collier said.

“Last year we collected enough books to fill 11 libraries in schools that had never had libraries before, with 26 shelves per library.”

Mr Collier said teams from local schools would visit Vanuatu to set up the libraries after the books had been collected.

“It’s good for them to actually be able to do something for once, as opposed to just liking something on Facebook,” Mr Collier said.

“Even after they’ve long forgotten their donation, it continues to have an impact for the students in Vanuatu.”

Mr Collier said the first school library, which was established in 2014 at Mwast Primary School in the village of Stonehill, was a major source of motivation for project co-ordinators.

“The school had an incredibly low pass rate for final year students,” Mr Collier said.

“After the library, this was pretty much flipped around so almost every student was passing, and students were advancing to the best schools and colleges.”

“There are no book shops on Vanuatu, so even if schools raised funds, there would be no way for them to access them.”

Mr Collier said in previous years, donations had come from people old and young, as well as schools and libraries culling old books.

He encouraged donations of children’s fiction and non-fiction books, as well as encyclopedias.

The Library Project Vanuatu Book Drive officially launches on Monday, February 25.

A donation event will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, March 23 at the Cleveland Assembly Hall on Smith Street.

Volunteers are needed to sort donated books on Sunday, March 24.

To volunteer or for more information, call Neale Collier on 3824 9239.