On International Literacy Day, Ama King on the power of community libraries.

For International Literacy Day, Poda-Poda Stories interviewed Ama King, the founder of Sierra Learners and Congo Town Community Library in Freetown. King spoke about the importance of early childhood literacy and how parents, teachers, and other community members can help children become good readers.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Ama King, founder of Congo Town Community Library in Freetown.

Poda-Poda Stories: What got you interested in childhood literacy in Sierra Leone?

 Ama King: I worked at Lismore Library in New South Wales, Australia for 16 years. And while I was there, I decided I would like to bring books to children in Sierra Leone. I am a living example of how education can transform a person. I came from a challenging background, and I was able to raise myself to a level where I can advocate for other people.

When I was a young girl, I didn't even know about the Sierra Leone Library Board when I was in primary school. I didn't know anything about libraries, but I loved reading. And I know how important it is for everyone to be able to read. And so, I thought that's the area I would like to help children in my country.

I started collecting books from people, and luckily my library in Australia helped me quite a lot. I also got a lot of resources and support from Lismore and the whole Northern Rivers community in New South Wales. In 2014, by the time I finished studying for a film and writing degree, I had collected a lot of books, and I started working on raising funds to ship these books to Sierra Leone.

I started an organisation called Sierra Learners and was able to ship a 20-foot container filled with books in 2014. I partnered with PEN Sierra Leone, as they were working on book clubs in schools at the time.

After the PEN Sierra Leone project, I worked with other schools to donate books. So far, we’ve distributed books to over twenty schools both in Freetown and in the provinces. We’ve also set up a classroom library at St. Anthony's Girls School and another at the FAWE Primary School in Kroo Bay.

Then we converted a container into a library at Grace Brethren School in Brookfields. And we also have another container library at Mokombay village near Russell in the Western Area Peninsula.

Poda-Poda Stories: And what has been your experience running that project?

King:  When I set up these school and container libraries, I employ teachers to assist the children in their reading and manage the library. Even when I was in Australia, we communicated via WhatsApp, and I would ask them to send me a monthly report about how the project is going.

They still send reports on how many children went to the library daily. For me, it's not about just going and giving the books to the school. "Oh, yes, I gave the school books, I gave the school books." No. It's about following up and making sure that all my efforts, the purpose for which I put all this effort and resources into this project, are actually effective.

Setting up these libraries is good, but it’s not just about having community libraries. I want to make sure that the children are actually reading the books. So, I follow up with the teachers, and I follow up with the kids. I still have a lot of books to donate, so schools can reach out to me if they want to set up classroom libraries.

A container library established by Ama King at Grace Brethen Primary School in Brookfields, Freetown.

Poda-Poda Stories:  How did you start the Congo Town Community Library, and how does it work? I was so excited when I learned about it because I don’t see spaces like this around Freetown.

King: I believe that every community should have a library. Every school should have a library. The kids in the community who come here are amazing! And they need attention and care when learning how to read.  I started putting books in this space when I registered my literacy project in Sierra Leone. It’s actually owned by my mum, and I’ve rented it from her. This space was officially created in 2020, and I’ve been running it full-time since 2024.

The children come here when they have free time, so that’s usually over the weekend and during the holidays when schools are closed. When they’re here, I usually ask them to choose a book that we’ll read together.

I teach them lots of phonics because it’s the magic tool. Once a kid can understand phonics, they can read anything. And when kids can read, they are able to articulate and express themselves better.

I remember a girl, Mariatu, who would get so frustrated because she had difficulty reading. And with time and patience, I was able to get her to read sentences easily, and when she finally got it, her face lit up as if to say, "Oh, I get it. Wow." You know? And moments like that bring me so much joy! We’ve had issues with funding and sponsorship, so right now it’s self-funded, with other support from a small group of friends here in Sierra Leone and in Australia .

Poda-Poda Stories: What challenges do you think children face in terms of literacy in Sierra Leone? And what do you think are some of the solutions to those challenges they face?

King: The statistics, not only in Sierra Leone but worldwide, show that many children cannot read. That is not only in Sierra Leone or in Africa, but worldwide.

I wonder how many children who have access to technology spend time reading, as opposed to how much time they spend on social media. So, there are a lot of forces or distractions that have pushed reading and literacy to the background.

I often go to our Sierra Learners container library at Mokombay village near Russell to monitor and help children with their reading. There, I found that even children in Class Six could not read the first few words of a paragraph.

So, on this World Literacy Day, I want to ask people, partners, organizations, and even individuals who are really interested in children's literacy to help organizations like us that are trying to get children to read and write. Support us so we can help fill the gap. The teachers cannot do it all in school.

Parents also have a huge part to play in their children's learning, so I want to encourage parents to also be a part of their children's reading journey. It goes a long way. Teachers can do their bit, but parents should also be invested in ensuring their children have a good foundation. Sometimes I’ve seen a lack of interest because the parents also cannot read, but that should push them to ensure their kids have a better chance. Let’s do it for the legacy that we want to leave behind and to see our children's faces light up when they know they can read.

Poda-Poda Stories: Thank you, Ms. King. A final question: How have books saved your life?

 Books have made me who I am- confident and articulate. I started reading at an early age. In secondary school, I used to read books with dictionaries. Even though it often interrupted the flow, the dictionaries helped me to actually understand what I was reading. For children, books can take them to a whole wide world, and they can just immerse themselves in whatever story that's been created.  So, books are beautiful.

Questions and interview by Ngozi Cole.

“We know we are relevant,” Dunstanette Bodkin on childhood reading and why libraries matter

Dunstanette Bodkin, the Deputy Chief Librarian of the Sierra Leone Library Board.

Dunstanette I.O. Bodkin is the Deputy Chief Librarian of the Sierra Leone Library Board. In this virtual interview with Poda-Poda Stories, Bodkin spoke to Ngozi Cole about the importance of childhood reading and why public libraries will always be relevant, even in the age of AI.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Poda-Poda Stories: Dunstanette Bodkin, welcome to the Poda-Poda. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Dunstanette Bodkin: I've been working for the Sierra Leone Library Board for the past seven years. I studied Library Information Studies at Fourah Bay College. I started with a diploma program, then moved on to a BA Honors degree, and finally earned my Master's in the same field. I started as the children's librarian and then became an administrative assistant. But I continued working with the children's department because it is my special calling. No matter where I find myself, I always ensure that I work with kids, encouraging them to read and teaching them how to read as well. Recently, I was promoted to the Deputy Chief Librarian of the Sierra Leone Library Board.

Poda-Poda Stories: Congratulations! What made you want to become a librarian in the first place?

Bodkin: It’s quite a story. I never really intended to become one. I loved books, and I loved reading, but there was nothing about librarianship because, growing up, you’re taught to aspire to become a lawyer, doctor, or engineer. But after my GCE O-Levels, I looked out for different programs at Fourah Bay College where I could start a diploma course, and then I got to know about the Library Studies department, and I was like, okay, this sounds nice. The moment I started the diploma program, I just knew there was no turning back because I fell in love with it. After that, I enrolled in the BA program and graduated as a top student. But back then, no one saw the value of librarianship. I had to promote and advocate for Library Studies students to be valued and appreciated on campus.

Poda-Poda Stories: I'm a huge fan of librarians and libraries. My dad worked briefly at the Sierra Leone Library Board, and I got a library card really early on. Thank you so much for your work! As a librarian, how do you see people, especially children, using libraries? What are people using the libraries for, and how is that translating into literacy and reading in Sierra Leone?

Bodkin: The Sierra Leone Library has 24 branches across the country, and our key patrons are children. We have a special department in our libraries called the children’s department or children’s corners. We have been able to partner with Book Aid International UK, and they have been very supportive of the children's corners and children's department. When you come into these libraries, you'll notice that the children's department is a special place, very well organized with books, toys, and games, designed for children. We always organize activities for them because having the children come in is one thing, but what would make them stay? It is activities across all our libraries, and we have several planned throughout the year. As long as you can get children reading when they’re young, it's best.

Getting adults to use the library is a bit trickier, but we do have them coming in, especially from colleges and universities, because we have those who understand the value. We have research materials and historical materials. Sometimes, people doing research struggle to find certain information, but when they come into the library, we have all these materials ready for them to use. That's the kind of service that we are providing for everyone.

Even though we are now competing with technology, we still know our place in society. We know that we are providers of relevant information. We know that we are curators of historical knowledge. In fact, we have a policy that all authors, both within and outside Sierra Leone, who write about Sierra Leone, should deposit three copies of their book with the Library Board for free. It's called a legal deposit, and all those who comply have their materials in the library.

Poda-Poda Stories: What are some of the challenges that the library is facing currently?

Bodkin: A big challenge is finances. Sometimes we have late allocations coming in or allocations being cut off, so we have to manage resources all the time.  An important thing about libraries is our programming; if we don't have the support we need, we lag and need to catch up with trends, but that’s difficult because of funding. For instance, for now, we really want to see how best we can go digital with our resources and how we can change our acquisitions department from traditional to digitized. But we can't do that. We still have to go through the hard labor of stamping them and punching cards, even though that's what makes us librarians. We also want to offer more programs for adults, like workshops on leadership and climate change, but we don’t have the funds. 

Another challenge we are facing is transportation. We have 24 libraries across the country, and it’s hard to monitor them. We also need to take books to rural areas all around Sierra Leone. That’s why we are still trying our best to get our job done and stay relevant in the midst of all the challenges.

Dunstanette Bodkin also runs a non-profit organisation advocating for early literacy development and children’s welfare, Dunamis Kids Organisation.

Poda-Poda Stories: Can you talk a bit more about the organization you started, Dunamis Kids Organization, why you started it, and some of the initiatives you guys are working on?

Bodkin: I used to have some family members sending me books because they just knew I was passionate about books and reading. So, they’ll look around to see what books they can collect and send to me, and I’ll make donations and distribute them to schools. So, with the knowledge from the Early Literacy course I took with the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA), I decided to team up with colleagues to see how we can put our limited resources, knowledge, and passion together to reach more children. Since we launched, we have been targeting schools and communities. So, for schools, we normally try to see how best we can help them set up the school library and support them in running it. And then, for the community, we normally organize pop-up libraries and reading activities with children. We’ve also been going as far as the children’s hospitals, where we launched a bibliotherapy initiative, emphasizing that even books can support healing. We’ve been to some hospitals, where we share stories with the children and also donate a certain number of books for the nurses to keep in the children’s wards, so the children can access and read them. We’ve also had community play-day activities where we merge play and reading, often during the Christmas break. In fact, we have a school where we set up both a computer room and a library, using computers donated to the organization from someone in the UK. We just blended that with some books we had, and we teamed up with the school authorities. They welcomed the idea, so now they have a library and computer room up and running, and that has helped to boost literacy in the school and engage the children in learning activities.

Poda-Poda Stories: Why are libraries so important, not just for kids, but adults as well?

Bodkin: We tell people to see the library as a hub and a space that can provide many opportunities. People are not aware of how rich our collection is, and the whole idea of saying “Oh, I can just go to ChatGPT and get all that I want”, for example, isn’t really true. People have to understand that these things are not human. They make mistakes. There are so many errors, and for people to even use this tool successfully, they have to learn how to use it properly. As librarians, we have the capacity to know how to arrange information and how to determine relevant information for use. Not everything available online is true. You have to know how to verify and analyze your information. These are all things people aren't aware of; they just feel they don't need the library, but we keep telling them to come to the library. In fact, not everything in the library is online. We have some historical records in the library that you cannot find on any digital database. We know we are relevant, but then even within the field, we have colleagues who no longer want to be librarians. Now we have many colleagues with first degrees in librarianship, but they are rushing to pursue other fields because they don't feel comfortable in their own skin. But we try to have conversations where we can tell ourselves how much we matter.

There’s a lot of talk about Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. You cannot leave libraries behind in that because there is a way the library can help to reach those goals, whether it is education, climate change, or entrepreneurship. We are a space where people can think together and offer solutions. The moment we gather for events and workshops, there's going to be a spark of ideas and solutions.

Poda-Poda Stories: Thank you, Ms. Bodkin. A final question: How have books saved your life?

Bodkin: If I didn’t have access to books and stories growing up, I don't think I would've been able to get to where I am right now, because there is something about childhood reading that never leaves you. It helps you dream and imagine where you want to go and what you want in life. Sometimes people say, “Oh, you speak so well”. And I believe that didn't even happen in school or university. It's from my childhood, having access to good books and stories. I am where I am because of the books I read as a child.

Questions and interview by Ngozi Cole.