
The updated Lubuto Model Library and Training Center
We are no longer funded by USAID and we are not able to carry out the expansion project of the Nabukuyu Library that we first announced in our June 2022 newsletter. We are looking for other sources of support to help the children and families in the Nabukuyu area. We are deeply concerned with the risks to health, livelihood and the environment in Zambia caused by the changes in the U.S. foreign aid program—and are seeking to do whatever we can to mitigate the impact.
Lubuto’s vision is a world where all children and youth are supported by libraries to reach their full potential and realize their rights to culture and information.
Lubuto’s mission is to demonstrate how a locally owned network of dynamic, free libraries for African children and youth can support them in developing the knowledge and skills to grow and connect with their culture and community and participate fully in society.
Since its founding in 2005, Lubuto Library Partners has successfully challenged narrow perceptions about what a library can be and do through our impactful work with young people in Zambia. Lubuto equitably welcomes Zambia’s young people in safe, inclusive and joy-filled spaces—giving them opportunities to grow, learn and thrive.
Lubuto Libraries’ doors are often the only ones open to the most vulnerable children, including those out of school, children with disabilities, girls and young mothers and those living on the street. The network of four libraries have supportive environments that feature:
programming that has given over 25,000 children education and literacy, social and emotional learning and self-expression through reading, music, art, drama, technology, mentoring, English and Zambian literacy and more, continuously making progress in achieving gender equity
regular, targeted outreach that ensures that each child in need finds a home in the library
extensive and accessible collectionsof the best fiction and informational literature for young people, in English and Zambian languages, and the best print, film and digital media available