Breadcrumbs

Somerville Ghana Library Project

In 2003, Somerville student Hattie Begg set up a charity to fund a free public library, used by hundreds of adults and children in Cape Coast, Ghana. Every year since then, groups of Somerville students have continued to raise funds for the project, and to make yearly visits to Ghana, to talk to the people who use the library and to help with improvements to the building.

Molly’s Library is named after a very supportive local philanthropist, Molly Yankey, who provides weekly updates on the progress of the library, and the work of its two librarians, Regina and Godsway.

This region of Ghana has high levels of illiteracy. The next nearest public library is more than a 12km walk away. Over 300 people use Molly's Library every week and it is an important educational resource for children and adults in the area. The library has a study room for adults where they have access to textbooks, fiction, drama, and foreign language books.  There is a study room for school children and one for younger children where the librarians teach the children to read and write in English using games and tests. Learning English is an important advantage in a country where around fifty different languages and dialects are spoken.

The Somerville volunteers organise fundraising activities throughout the year, with a minimum target of £2000 each year for rent and wages, plus additional funds to purchase and ship books, and for improvement work and maintenance.  

The student volunteers spend a summer working in Ghana, finding out what the community needs from the library. A need for agricultural and medical textbooks has been identified, and future volunteers will be tasked with following this through.

If you would like to be involved with the project, want to make a donation, or would like more information about it then please contact katie.paul@some.ox.ac.uk.

Click on any of the photos below to start a slideshow.