"Everyone who cares about people, Rotary and the future of our world needs to care about Africa."
Rick LoBello

You can help by sending in a donation to the West El Paso Rotary Foundation.  All donations are tax deductible.  Click here to learn more.

For additional inspiration visit these websites for streaming video and more:

Live 8 Africa Campaign - Led by Bono who along with Bill Gates won Time Magazine's 2005 Man of the Year Expedition Rwanda - Richard Bang's 10 year efforts highlighted by Yahoo.
 

The West El Paso Rotary Foundation of Texas is working to help Rotarians in Rwanda finish and open the country’s first public library.  

For many years, Rotarians have been active in efforts to reduce illiteracy, from building schools and paying salaries of teachers to serving as tutors to collecting and distributing books and audiovisual materials to libraries. Rotarians are working with governments to create large-scale replicable literacy projects in the developing world.

Considerable progress has been made in recent decades in reducing illiteracy; yet, close to a billion people lack the most basic literacy and numeracy skills. Millions more are functionally illiterate, lacking the skills necessary to meet the demands of everyday life. UNESCO illuminates some of the greatest challenges for those tackling illiteracy:

1. Ninety-eight percent of the world's illiterate population is in developing countries.
2. Fifty percent of the world's illiterate people live in India and China.
3. More than 50 percent of the population of Africa is illiterate.
4. Two-thirds of all those who lack literacy and numeracy skills are women.
5. More than 130 million school-age children are not attending classes.

The El Paso West El Paso Rotary Foundation is seeking donations to help with the  the completion of the Kigali Public Library in Rwanda.  Contributions of any size will be accepted including contributions from individuals. Click here to learn more.

Rick LoBello, Past President of the West El Paso Rotary

Foundation  met with members of the Kigali Rotary Club
 and visited the library construction site in June of 2005.

When the effort is complete in late 2006 funds will be directed to the Kigali Rotary Club. The Kigali Rotary Club was chartered in 2000 and has 45 members.  Rwanda’s first public library, under construction, is the club’s first major project.  The $1.7 million project is the biggest in Rotary District 9150.

Fundraising to date: Government of Rwanda donated the land

•         Government of Rwanda has pledged U$ 500,000

•         U$ 500,000 in donations already collected

Library specifications:

•         Seating capacity – 500 people

•         Book Capacity – 25,000 books

•         Main reading room

–        100 people and 10,000 books

•         7 Special Collections

–        Rwanda history & literature, Genocide studies, African history & literature, Children’s area, Conservation/gorillas, Reference, Magazines

Contributions towards the completion of the Kigali Public Library Project can be sent to:

Rotary Club of West El Paso Foundation

c/o Kigali Rotary Club Public Library Project
913 Totonaca Lane
El Paso, Texas   79912

or for more information contact

 

Rick LoBello

915-474-1456

rickllobello@cs.com

Chava Gonzalez

915-565-5205 or 329-8262

chavag@swbell.net