🏆 Help Talia Rosen raise $2,500 to refurbish a library and buy 500 new books for children in Padang, Indonesia!
WHO: Hi! I’m Talia Rosen. I’m a freshman in high school at Golda Och Academy, and I love to read. As my bat mitzvah project (a Jewish custom), I decided to help other kids around the world have access to books that I sometimes take for granted. A library is my favorite place on Earth and I hope that I can help some other people feel the same way.
I would like to honor the memory of my Grandpa George by dedicating my mitzvah project to him. We shared a love of books and a passion for reading and he too would want to help others get to experience the joy of reading.
WHAT: The WIJABA Ambassadors Library, which has served 496 children since it opened in October of 2010, has been a well loved and frequently visited space. As a consequence of the harsh weather conditions and school closure during the pandemic, however, this library is in need of a major refurbishment and book replenishment. With Talia's help, we are looking to raise $2,500 to refurbish the library and purchase 500 new books. Refurbishments will include painting, furniture repair, ceiling repair, artwork updates, floor retiling, and more!
Pictured: WIJABA Ambassador's Library at SDN 14 Jati Tanah Tinggi, May 2022
WHERE: The WIJABA Ambassador's Library is located in Padang, the capital of Indonesia's West Sumatra province, at SDN 14 Jati Tanah Tinggi. This region has experienced both severe earthquakes and a devastating tsunami.
WHEN: The goal is to start the refurbishment and book replenishment in the spring of 2023.
WHY: Education inequality can fundamentally influence a child's future.
According to UNESCO:
"Literacy is a driver for sustainable development in that it enables greater participation in the labour market; improved child and family health and nutrition; reduces poverty and expands life opportunities.
Beyond its conventional concept as a set of reading, writing and counting skills, literacy is now understood as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital, text-mediated, information-rich and fast-changing world.
Globally, however, at least 773 million youth and adults still cannot read and write and 250 million children are failing to acquire basic literacy skills. This results in an exclusion of low-literate and low-skilled youth and adults from full participation in their communities and societies."
At WIJABA, we believe that every child deserves to have equal access to quality books and a safe, clean, joyful environment in which to read them. By renovating the WIJABA Ambassador's Library and replenishing the book supply, we know we can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children who have so little and deserve so much.
HOW: WIJABA partners with schools and communities to best support the needs of those who will benefit from our libraries and programs. Children, parents, and teachers are interviewed to establish community-chosen book catalogues, local workers are employed to build/restore library spaces, and students are invited to paint the map mural that will decorate their library wall. Our libraries are also strategically placed in hubs, so that our staff can continue our relationships with each school and efficiently maintain the spaces.
Below is an example of a completed library in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, painted with our signature yellow, blue, and green color scheme, decorated with photos of local endangered species, and stocked with hundreds of new books. With your help, the Ambassador's Library will be just as beautiful, warm, and inviting for the children of Padang to learn and grow.
Please consider contributing to this cause. No donation is too small and every dollar helps us get closer to our goal. Together we can make a difference!
Pictured: WIJABA Ki Hajar Dewanatara Library in Sidoarjo, Indonesia which opened in July, 2019.