Wow, Andrew - Good point!
I hope others start writing on our Blog, too.
I just heard from Susie Chang, the Relief International agent in Afghanistan and she is VERY excited about us sponsoring one of their libraries!!!! She even suggests that we read a book together with kids from Afghanistan. Here is her message:

Dear Ellen,

Apologies for my delay in response. I am thrilled to hear that you and “the Bookmarks” are taking the initiative to get involved in this program! It is great to know that there are youth in the US that are interested and committed to assisting people in other countries through education.

You mentioned that you would like to see the library be a public community library, expanded from a library with access to members of the school. We will work with the Ministry of Education to select a school that would be best for this goal, as typically schools are restricted to the teachers and students. Is your group interested in focusing on either a boys’ or girls’ school?

I plan on visiting the Ministry of Education tomorrow and if all goes well I will have a better idea of which schools will work best for ensuring open community access. It may turn out that we can expand on an existing library by providing more books for a wider audience, or holding community events. Also I would like to pair you with a school that has students and involves community members who can read and write English, so that communication beyond photos is possible. Perhaps we can even start cross-border book clubs! The English reading level will vary of course, but I’m sure we can find a book to match the interests of readers in both countries. Another idea is to have students read books about the culture of the other country and correspond about what they learned and ask about the reality of the accounts.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Please do let me know if there was anything else you see as a priority in terms of who is able to benefit from this library. I will be sure to keep you updated as we identify an appropriate school, and send photos. When is the bottle drive scheduled to begin? I definitely want to provide you with information and photos about a specific school as soon as possible, but also want to make sure we identify one appropriate for the library you envision.

Thank you again for your message and commitment Ellen. I look forward to working with you to make all this a reality. I’ve attached a few photos of some of the schools with libraries we’ve set up thusfar.
All the best,

Susie

Susie Chang
Education Program Officer
RELIEF INTERNATIONAL - SCHOOLS ONLINE
Kabul, Afghanistan