I am joining with a group of 15 Cairns women to support Christina Lee (pictured with Batase students) raise enough funds to build the first library in Batase Village, Nepal. This project is in collaboration with Libraries Without Borders (Paris, France), Friends of Himalayan Children (Cairns, Australia) and the Australian National University (Canberra, Australia). You and I will play a small part in making this happen! SOME FACTS: *40% of adults in Nepal are illiterate. 57% live on less than $2 per day, and more than half live without electricity. *Human trafficking is heavily present in Nepal due to poverty, lack of awareness and access to information. *Batase village is an especially high-risk traffic zone due to its proximity to Kathmandu. *Every day more than 54 young girls and women are trafficked out of Nepal and into India to enter a life of slavery. *Lack of education, illiteracy and poverty are the biggest causes of human trafficking as these people are most vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation. But a LIBRARY can change this situation. HOW? By tackling the real root of the issue of human trafficking by providing access to information and education through a 21st century library. We aim to decrease vulnerability by providing access to essential information through a digital library, higher quality educational support and the opportunity to show that the only idea that the vulnerable know of which they perceive as reality is NOT THE TRUTH. And as a result, we aim to break the cycle of human trafficking in remote villages of Nepal. More Reasons Why Batase Needs a Library • Illiteracy is a huge problem and why students drop out of school • There is no library in Batase and the closest library is in Kathmandu (which takes a two-day hike, or a 3-5 hour 4WD drive) • There is no newspaper access in the village • There is no internet access in the village school at the moment • There is no sufficient study space in the village WHAT ARE THE FUNDS FOR? Total estimated cost of project: $10,000 for library equipment and $5,000 to upgrade the library building (previously a shed used to distribute goods post the earthquake in 2016). My Contribution? I aim to raise $750, with your help! Deadline of fundraising: August 2018 • Upgrading and remodeling of the current shed • Furniture in the library – desks, chairs, carpet, etc. • E-library: customisation and creation of the KoomBook (innovative tool created by Libraries Without Borders) • Creation of human trafficking awareness videos • Contents of the library – tablets, books, board games • Shipping of KoomBook to Australia from France • Transportation of KoomBook and materials from Australia to Batase, Nepal • Sponsoring the librarian • Training the librarian • Providing electricity in the library Libraries are places where the poorest and most underserved people can broaden their horizons, transform their lives and build social capital. They are places of creativity and living laboratories of democracy that offer incomparable access to information, education and culture. In that sense, they are key spaces for the future, and the development of the human race and of our societies. - Libraries Without Borders The teachers and students of Batase have repeatedly exclaimed that ‘to have a library will be a dream come true’. Now it is up to us! Libraries Without Borders Website https://www.librarieswithoutborders.org/ Friends of Himalayan Children Website http://www.f-hc.org/ Friends of Himalayan Children Facebook https://www.facebook.com/f.hc.marketing/