Children in Kendal, St. John, now have a place to access books as a result of the Little Libraries Project launched last Friday by the Community Development Department, the Prince Godwill D. Fomusoh Foundation (PGDFF), and Massy Foundation.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, who cut the ribbon to declare the mini library open at the Kendal Community Centre, stated: “It is much more than a mini library because it provides an opportunity for the youngsters, … who are present here today, to be able to see the world through books.”
In acknowledging the significance of the library to the area, Mr Griffith spoke about the difficulty residents have in getting to the public library.
“This community is two buses away from the library in this constituency, and it is difficult to be able to traverse the area to get books. The fact that a library is coming to the location here at Kendal, I embrace that, and I want to thank the foundations on behalf of the youngsters who will benefit from this initiative,” he said.
Managing Director of PGDFF Caribbean, Anita Sundaram, expressed gratitude to the partners of the initiative.
“I’m excited to have the installation of the free little library here at the centre. It has been a great pleasure to work with our partners, Massy Foundation, who sponsored this, as well as the Community Development Department.”
“They have worked tirelessly with me on this project to make sure that we have these libraries set up at community centres where children can read, …[and] engage in their love for reading,” she said.
The first phase of the Little Libraries Project will see 15 mini libraries opened across the island, while the second phase, which is a youth advocacy programme, will involve seminars on cybersecurity and internet bullying.
SOURCE: Barbados Government Information Service (GIS).
