The Stories We Tell: Our Blog

In 2009 my husband and I created Caleb’s Project to honor the short, but precious life of our son, Caleb Paul Zellner, who died before birth.  His due date was December 26.  Because I wanted to have a happy Christmas for my other children, I decided I should focus on something positive.  And so we began to do a service project each year in his memory. 

In 2017 Caleb’s Project is a book drive to create a library for Kamgere Primary School in Kenya.

The book drive began September 1.  So far, the support of our family and friends has been amazing, but we are not done yet.

When the African Library Project Board voted earlier this year to hold a golf tournament, Sharna Fey, a Board member since 2011, enthusiastically agreed to become the Project Manager for Links for Literacy.  Orginally scheduled for late September, the tournament has been moved to spring 2018.

"A golf tournament brings together two things I love--golf and the African Library Project,” says Sharna. “This project integrates my life.”

Sharna has traveled to Swaziland, Ghana and Malawi, and she knows that, “What we do works. Literacy can lead to social change.  What we do matters.”

This is the third blog from Ashley Kahn about her recent trip to Lesotho with Amy Jo Carson, ALP’s Lesotho Country Liaison. 

The village of Bokone is special to Amy Jo Carson. A part of Amy’s heart belongs to the Majara family, their house and village, as that’s where she resided the first three months of her Peace Corp deployment. While she was there, she read with the Majara family and with children in the village.

ALP not only creates libraries; it also stays in touch with our African partners to be sure the libraries are working effectively.  And when possible, helps make them even better.  On a recent trip to Lesotho, Amy Jo Carson and Ashley Kahn found a fun way to reorganize one library and celebrate literacy in the community.

One of the libraries we visited was to the Kick 4 Life’s Hope Community Center. Kick 4 Life is a football club dedicated to social change through HIV/AIDS education and care, sport, and a thriving social enterprise.