The Kala Peace Library benefits the adults, youth, and young children who visit the library stacks, use the reading room, and enroll in classes and library activities everyday. As refugees repatriate back to the Democratic Republic of Congo, they will carry the knowledge and skills they gain with them, thus helping to revitalize their home communities. 3023 2 false During forced displacement, education systems and services are often among the first to fall by the wayside. Outside of basic primary education, refugee camps rarely provide residents with the resources and space to enable refugees of all ages to continue learning, improve their literacy, and explore the subjects that interest them. In addition to providing many books and resources, the Kala Peace Library functions as a community center where everyone in the Kala Camp community can come to share ideas and learn together. 2008-05-01T02:10:22-05:00 The Kala Peace Library is a thriving center of educational resources and activities in the Kala Camp community. The library stacks are home to over 2,000 titles in French,Swahili, and English ranging from novels to reference documents to books on geography, history and science. Kala Peace Library also offers members the ability to listen to over 200 compact disc recordings of African artists on portable CD players within the library. Magazines, newspapers, games, and puzzles are available for library visitors to use in the reading room. During the week, librarians offer resume and letter writing classes for adults that help them secure employment when they repatriate and basic literacy classes for those who are hoping to learn to write. On weekends the librarians host a storytelling hour for children and youth reading competitions to encourage the habit of reading in young people. The Kala Peace Library aims to reach all members of the Kala Camp community, and to increase attendance from women and youth especially. To increase literacy and educational opportunity in Kala Camp by providing the only access to educational and information materials. 14 • Holding daily library hours during which camp residents read books, check out books, and listen to CDs from the music library • Conducing regular workshops for groups of adult women and adult men in basic literacy, resume writing, and letter writing • Providing weekly storytelling activities for children in the Kala Camp • Holding youth reading competitions to encourage literacy #<Location:0xb4f3214> 2 • To increase literacy and encourage educational attainment • To help Kala Camp residents find employment upon their return to the DR Congo by equipping them with enhanced literacy and writing skills • To expand library membership by 300 members annually • To increase women’s use of library resources • To raise cultural awareness among Kala Camp children about the DR Congo and its history As of December 1, 2009, FORGE is no longer working in Kala Refugee Camp. Thus, FORGE is no longer accepting funds for this project. In communities where knowledge is so actively sought, a library quickly becomes a bastion of learning. For the population of Kala Refugee Camp, the Kala Peace Library (Bibliotheque de la Paix) plays anchor to this pursuit of knowledge. With well over 2,000 titles, stacks of periodicals, games, puzzles, and over 200 CDs, there are dozens of ways in which the patrons of the library enjoy reading and learning. The librarians also conduct letter-writing and resume-writing classes for adults, in order to help them secure employment when they return home, and basic literacy courses for those who wish to learn to write. On the weekends, the library is home to story-telling hour for children and youth reading competitions. The Kala Peace Library is open to all 20,000 residents of Kala. true Increasing literacy and educational opportunity one year 2010-03-10T10:20:21-06:00