Books4Tonga is seeking people in villages to help establish more libraries in Tonga and the charity will supply the books aimed to help people improve their English reading and writing.

The initiative seeks 25 more villages to host the libraries to be added to a waiting list, before August 1, with the next shipment of books to arrive in September.

The aim of the village library is to help locals improve their English reading, writing and speaking by having access to books. 

Founder, Wallis Barnicoat said to run a village library one does not need any qualifications or bookshelves.

"You just need a place for the books and for the people to come to read at least twice week. Hopefully, understand the importance of reading and how it helps people to have a better future, and encourage people to use the library."

Each library receives 320 books at a start, hosted either in a local person's home or in a village hall and are open at least twice a week for anyone to use. 

The books are not supplied to schools because the Books4Tonga libraries are aimed at all ages in the community, from pre-schoolers to adults, and are open in non-school hours.

Lavinia Pohahau from Books4Tonga, said they have noticed that people who host a library from their own home benefit from looking after the books, because their own family have access to the reading material every day.

The libraries provide books for pre-schoolers, early readers, teens, adults. There are fiction and non-fiction books, all of good quality from New Zealand and Australia, she said.

Books4Tonga libraries already set up are in Niutoua, 'Utulau, Longomapu, Holopeka, Tufuvai among other villages.

Ref.

www.books4tonga.org [2]

Facebook:  Books4Tonga