We have seen first-hand how excited the students at ISF are about learning to read and getting through their first books. Unfortunately, the majority of their peers and families in the community are denied this chance. To enable them to experience the joy of reading and learning, ISF launched a project to set up libraries in the communities where we work. Since November 2014, we have established 5 community libraries that reach around 70 people every day. An additional 3 ‘mobile libraries’ – librarians who take a selection of books on their bicycle or moto- deliver books to a further 300 community members who are less able to travel.

At ISF’s education centres we have seen what a difference access to books and learning makes to our students. Now children throughout the community can enjoy reading books, improve their listening, comprehension and memory skills, build their vocabulary and learn life lessons through discussion and the stories in the books. The libraries have become learning hubs for adults as well, providing them with vital information that can improve their health and wellbeing, open up more employment opportunities and help link families with services that they require.

ISF has a long-running adult literacy project which means more and more community members have the reading skills to access the libraries. For those that are still learning to read or have difficulty reading, our librarians support them by reading stories. We have also seen the younger generation taking charge, as many children take books home to share with their family members or read stories to those who are illiterate.

With an ever-expanding selection of books on subjects such as agriculture, history, finances, English language and health, the community libraries give people access to resources that build their skills and knowledge. Something that many of us take for granted however is that libraries and books also allow us to explore different worlds and give us hope. Mr. Som Sareun and Mrs. Cheurn, two of our parents expressed this when talking about ISF’s Community Library Project: “we are really happy to listen to the great stories read by children and we are very impressed to see our children read smoothly. We learn a lot from the stories such as a story about a poor lady called Sopha. It was really great story for us that we always keep in mind in the hope that we will also able to escape our poverty one day.”