Scene 7: Library Networking

Background

There is a public library near Flamingo Crescent which Auntie Marie told us some of the local children visit for reading or other activities. We decided to visit the library to see if it could offer any support for the potential crèche in Flamingo.

Cast of Characters

WPI Project Team Members: Alison, Jason, Zach
Student Co-Researcher: Amy
Librarians: Sharmine, Ruwayda 

Setting

The Lansdowne public library, just down the road from Flamingo Crescent.

Scene

Upon arriving at the library, our first sight was not encouraging: a large metal gate covered the front entrance. Reggie showed his badge to the janitor, and luckily we were able to enter and speak to the librarians who were there preparing to open.

The youth section of the library

We met the two librarians, Sharmine and Ruwayda, and were immediately impressed by their motivation and energy.  We briefly explained our project and goals in Flamingo Crescent and before we could even ask about their ability to support our work, they jumped in with enthusiasm.  Ruwayda explained everything we had hoped to gain in less than 10 minutes. She described that they already did educational programs and crafts with the children there, and that they would be excited to provide books or other services to a future crèche in Flamingo Crescent.

We had not expected to gain so much information so quickly and felt at a loss for words.  Luckily Ruwayda was happy to keep talking about how she and Sharmine care for the children, at times even paying for clothes and food with their own money.  As we left, they told us how thankful they were for our work, and emphasized the importance of following through with this project to its completion.

Reflection

It was refreshing to find people who were already so invested in helping the children of Flamingo Crescent since those were the kinds of people who can do the most if we connect them to funding or other resources. While both Ruwayda and Sharmine have limited resources, they nonetheless possessed clear ideas of what could be done if they had a facility in Flamingo and outside funding.