What is Oasis?
True to its name, Oasis, Tadjoura strives to be a place of life and abundance in a dry and desert land. The centre does this by creating a safe and welcoming space that receives children, teenagers, and even adults free of charge.
From the beginning Oasis Library has had as its aims:
- 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.
Timeline of Oasis
2003 Oasis opens its doors for the first time
2004 UNIHOCKEY teams begin playing in the Oasis courtyard with 4 teams
2005 Books for adults are added as well as books in the local language
2006 The library is run solely by a local librarian
2007 A mobile library project visiting neighbouring villages works in collaboration with Oasis until 2008
2009 Oasis is closed for renovations
2010 Oasis Library reopens with a new librarian
2014 Celebration of 10-year anniversary
2016 MMR personnel move back to Tadjoura and take on the responsibility of running the Oasis Library again
2017 English courses for adults start to help with prospective employment, continued until 2019
2019 Amina, a young Afar women is hired and trained to help with the children and later manages the whole library on her own
2020 French classes are run for young adults during the early spring
In November a young local man is hired as a second library assistant
2021 Covid temporarily closes the library as everyone strives to be healthy and safe
2022 Oasis Library receives donations of books, toys, and other materials from the French army
In May Oasis moves to a building down the road with slightly lower rent
In August after cleaning and painting the new Oasis site opens ready to welcome back children
2023 In February a second Oasis Library opens in Balbala.
Further information about these early days can be found in Oasis Library – the Early Days, while this article will focus on developments in 2024.
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 while it caters mostly for children, 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!
Who is at Oasis?
If you were to stop by Oasis Library, you would first be welcomed by the smiling faces of the children that come to Oasis every day to read, play, and learn. Your first official welcome, however, would be by Amina, the young Afar woman who helps run the centre. Her desk by the front door gives her the perfect location to welcome newcomers and keep an eye on the kids reading among the bookshelves. She has helped with Oasis since 2018 and since she was hired, the number of children in the centre has greatly increased. You may also see the current director of Oasis, a native French speaker. Trained in the medical field, she is well-known in the community. You may also see the other local employee, who helps out at the centre.
Why Oasis?
Education is important. Most of the schools in the country operate in French. Oasis desires to come alongside the public schools and provide a place where children can read, play, and practice their French. Having additional resources such as games and books can help strengthen the students’ skills and help them to continue to progress well in school and later in life.
Where is Oasis?
The first Oasis is based in Tadjoura.
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.
What’s Next? Continuing Needs
Oasis Library is now in a new building that is slightly smaller and more manageable. However, the harsh Djiboutian weather means that regular update, cleaning, and maintenance is always required. In addition, funds are required to continue to maintain the various programmes at the centre and pay the local workers.
Further programmes could be developed with more workers to help with the children and to run the programmes.
Kerith Trust 