G-L, Just forwarding some very positive information sent to me by Louise O'leary, in Cheney, Washington. Their daughter "Fanta Jallow" is a Peace Corps volunteer stationed at Fatoto, where she teaches at Fatoto Junior Secondary School. Louise, Do you mind if l share with GESO and G-L this information regarding the work on the library that your daughter is doing? (She did not mind) Jabou Joh In a message dated 12/6/99 1:39:42 PM Central Standard Time, [log in to unmask] ( Louise O'leary) writes: Dear Jabou, Don't know if you remember me? My daughter is teaching for the peace corps in Fatoto? She is currently setting up from scratch a library for the Fatoto Junior Secondary School where she teaches. A truly daunting enterprise to set up everything from the beginning. She plans to have all the books not only inventoried and set up in the Dewey Decimal system but have card file in place as well before she returns to the US in July. I don't know if she is acquiring the books you guys helped to send to The Gambia or not but I felt I should tell you that at least some books are going to be utilized in a logical manner. It is however unfortunate that the condition of the books is so poor. She has gotten books together from the Main Education Office in Banjul as well as from Basse. These books have literally been tossed into a back room with no regard for their value. The spines are often broken with torn pages and they have been repeated walked on by people coming and going. A sad commentary. I hope that these are not the books that were sent by the joint effort last year. One of her biggest problems of course has been the logistics of getting the books to Fatoto. She has incorporated the drivers of the monthly Peace Corps mail run, but of course they have limited room. At least these books will have a good home in the end. As you already can tell we are very proud of our Fanta. It is my hope to return to Fatoto in March of 2000 and help a little with the cataloging. I of course also plan on visiting some of the many friends I made during my last visit. In a message dated 12/7/99 5:18:38 AM Central Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << Dear Jabou, Please feel free to share the information concerning our Fanta Jallow. Just like the Alpha Blondy song, Sweet, Sweet, Fanta Jallow. Her other projects include a girl's club with a goal of improving the girls self esteem and teaching the Women's Guild of Fatoto how to make corn starch with the idea of helping the women to earn incomes. She tried several time to make soap but since they were trying to use palm oil the results were somewhat less than good. She tutors 9th graders after work to help them prepare for their W. African proficiency tests. She is a very determined young lady and I know her experiences in The Gambia have enriched her. Louise ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------