Tadjoura City
In ancient times Tadjoura was an independent city-state and it continues its role as a vital sea port. It lies on the Gulf of Tadjoura, a 2-hour ferry ride, 150 mile/3-hour road journey or 30-minute flight from Djibouti City. As the third largest city in the country it has a population of around 45,000 and is of increasing national economic importance since a multi-million pound port was opened in 2018. It is also known for its whitewashed buildings and nearby beaches, along with its mosques.
Oasis Library is based here.
Oasis Library
Unfortunately the educational standard in the city is not high. School classes are very large and the teachers are not as well trained as in Djibouti City.
Children therefore need help to improve their French comprehension and communication, the main language of national education, so when they finish high school they are equipped to move to the capital to go to university. This help is crucial, for if their French language skills are not good enough, they will be unable to continue their education.
In response to this need Oasis Library opened its doors in 2003 aiming to:
Support National Education through a reading room and a well-managed library equipped with appropriate books.
Work with schools and teachers to encourage reading.
Contribute to the fight against illiteracy by preventing students who have completed elementary school from relapsing into illiteracy.
The library has story books, comics, novels, educational books, dictionaries and atlases, as well as Afar language books and Djiboutian-authored novels.
It is open 6 days weekly and receives children, teenagers and even adults free of charge.
Everyone can consult the books on site or borrow them.
The library also serves as a place for screening films linked with the Educational Cinema project. This allows children and teenagers to watch films in French and increase their general knowledge and cultural awareness.
Several games including card games and Lego are available as play helps children develop cognitive skills such as sustaining attention, coping with distractions, speeding up their ability to process information and cognitive flexibility and control (that means being able to respond to new information and change their mind!). All that and more are essential skills in adult life and they are developed by playing games. Education can be fun!
Most children do not have games at home so the library staff show them how to use them and play with them as time allows.
In the evenings tutoring classes take place on the roof terrace, where local teachers support children with their homework. Currently 30 children attend these classes.
Since 2017 English courses for adults have been provided as competency in English will increase their prospect of obtaining employment.
A native French speaker oversees the activities at Oasis Library. She has trained Amina, a young Afar woman, to help the children in picking books, reading with them and playing games. She is very competent so can manage alone if necessary. Since Amina commenced this employment in 2018 many more children are attending. Two more local employees, a cleaning lady and a guard help out.
What next?
English classes have had to stop since 2019 because a teacher has not been available. Hopefully that will change later in 2020.
Oasis Library building is quite large so needs regular maintenance in the harsh Djiboutian climate, and the rent is high.  Either a larger team is needed to make greater use of the facilities and make it more financially viable or maybe a move to a smaller property should be considered. Discussions and decisions will take place during 2020!
Kerith Trust 