# Lubuto Libraries for Street Children in Africa

Across sub-Saharan Africa, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is most severe, a growing number of orphans are heading their own households. In 12 African countries, it is projected that by 2010, 15 percent of all children under the age of 15 will be orphans. To bring literacy and hope to Africa's vulnerable children, Jane Kinney Meyers founded the Lubuto Library Project. Meyers discussed the goals and accomplishments of the project at the Library. Lubuto is a word in the Bemba language, spoken in central Africa, that signifies knowledge, enlightenment and light. In that spirit, the Lubuto Project was created to provide the burgeoning numbers of Africa's street children with opportunities for non-formal education, improved language and literacy skills, acquisition of general knowledge and participation in society. Simply stated, the project brings the simple pleasure of books to children who are alone in the world. With a collection of 4,000 items, the first Lubuto Library opened its doors on Sept. 21, 2007. The project was recognized as the "gold standard" of international library projects at the 2008 American Library Association annual conference in Anaheim, Calif.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2008
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Education, History, Children's
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688044/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Kids profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021688044?play=1)