Photo by Tom Warren

Kate Parry
kateparry@earthlink.net

Professor in the Department of English, Hunter College, City University of New York. She is married to Professor A. B. K. Kasozi, who lives and works in Uganda, grew up in Kitengesa, and has a home there. Kate therefore travels to Uganda regularly and has focused on Kitengesa in her research on literacy practices in Uganda. Besides being secretary and chief fundraiser for the Kitengesa Community Library, she is Chairperson of the Uganda Community Libraries Association (UgCLA) launched in 2007 (see www.ugcla.org) and Co-Executive Director of Friends of African Village Libraries (www.favl.org). She is shown here leading a workshop for UgCLA members.

Emmanuel Mawanda
mawandaemmanuel@yahoo.com
Director and Headmaster of Kitengesa Comprehensive Secondary School. He founded the school in 1996 with the aim of providing an education that would enable young people to earn a living in the community. He is a graduate of Nkozi National Teachers College. His main teaching subject is Luganda but he also teaches English. He is the local treasurer for the library.

Lucy Namwanje
First librarian. Lucy was introduced to Kate Parry in 1998 as someone who could look after the initial box of books. Her home is in Nyendo, the other side of Masaka from Kitengesa, but she has been travelling to Kitengesa on a regular basis since 1998. Like Mawanda and most of the students she is a native speaker of Luganda. She now works in the library three days a week.

Dan Ahimbisibwe
danielahimbisibwe@yahoo.com
Second librarian. Dan joined the project when the building was opened in June 2002 and it was necessary to have someone there full time. He has been living in Kitengesa ever since and through his work in the library has learnt to speak Luganda fluently (his first language is Runyankore). He spends most of his time in the library building either reading the books or teaching others how to do so. He recently passed the exams for his Higher School Certificate in 2004 and is now taking a degree by distance education in Development Studies at Uganda Martyrs University.

Patricia Woodard
pwoodard@hunter.cuny.edu
Librarian, Hunter College. Patricia has helped Kate to raise money for the library and holds the fort for the Friends whenever Kate is away in Uganda.

Lauren Yannotta
lyannott@hunter.cuny.edu

Lauren is a reference librarian and Instructor at the Hunter College Libraries. Lauren is one of two lead researchers working on the Hunter College Library Literacy Study with Professor Parry, and spent 7 weeks in Kitengesa in 2004. She returned for a shorter visit in 2005 and continues to play an active part in library fundraising.

Valeda Dent
vdent@rutgers.edu

Valeda Dent is the Associate University Librarian at Rutgers University. As one of two lead researchers for the Hunter College Library Literacy Study, she (along with Lauren Yannotta) have worked to document the reading habits and library use of community members, as well as the overall impact of the library. Valeda, who has also researched rural village libraries in China, the Caribbean and West Africa, is currently working on a book on the topic. She is also responsible for designing and maintaining the Kitengesa Community Library Website.

Shelley Jones
email: shelleykjones@gmail.com

Shelley studied for her PhD in the Language and Literacy Education Department at the University of British Columbia and did her fieldwork in Kitengesa in 2004-5, investigating the attitudes towards education of secondary school girls.  During her year there she also taught English at the Kitengesa Comprehensive Secondary School and taught a women’s adult literacy class at Kitengesa Community Library with Daniel Ahimbisibwe.  Shelley was at the time the Director of Research and Education at YouLead, a global education project based at the University of British Columbia (see History).

The Library Scholars

Since the first solar panels were installed in July 2004 [see Development Projects], the library has been open until 9 o’clock each night. To provide for the longer hours, we recruited students from Kitengesa Comprehensive Secondary School as Library Scholars. We pay their school fees from the funds donors give us, and in return they work for up to ten hours a week in the library. In the process they learn a great deal, not only about books and about how to use a computer, but also about how to hold a job. In June 2007 we instituted the practice of giving regular workshops for the scholars. The picture below shows them at the first such workshop learning how to use the index of a book.