A grant of US$8,000 has been approved by the 1% Fund towards the construction of a library at Got Matar Secondary School. This represents the largest single grant yet received by the Got Matar Community Development Group.

The 1% Fund is financed by voluntary contributions made by staff of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Grants, up to a maximum of US$10,000 each, are given in support of small-scale community-based projects aimed at improving the livelihoods of poor people in developing countries. Staff working in FAO’s libraries are also providing guidance to Got Matar on the acquisition of books for the library. Gifts of appropriate books (new or second hand) are, of course, very welcome.

Grace Andiki, when applying for the grant, wrote: “A school is not a school without a library”.

Visible Progress:

Here is a picture of Got Matar Pre-Primary School as it was in 2002, before the reconstructed building was opened (the photo on the back of the brochure).

It provides an interesting contrast with the new secondary school building. In 2002, over 30 children crammed into this hut, sitting on the mud floor. The only furniture was a broken chair for the teacher.

Things have come quite a long way!