Since the conflict began in South Sudan in December 2013, more than 500,000 children have been internally displaced. UNESCO South Sudan is launching the Little Libraries Project to provide child-friendly literacy materials to children in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Each Little Library will have culturally relevant stories for children of all ages in English and National Languages. Children can sit in the safe reading space around the Little Library to read independently or teachers, parents and community leaders can conduct “story time” in this same safe space. A guidebook will be delivered, along with a training on how to maintain the library and creatively engage children in reading activities.

 Based on feedback from a pilot Little Library in Juba, UNESCO South Sudan is looking for children’s texts in South Sudanese Mother Tongues and particularly looking for donations of culturally, topically, and contextually relevant books in English. In particular, UNESCO is looking for books published in East Africa with themes such as peacebuilding, conflict resolution, gender equality, life skills, etc. Additionally, any experience in setting up a mobile libraries in IDP camps with low literacy rates would be greatly appreciated in developing the guidebook and planning. Please contact Rena Deitz, Project Manager, at r.deitz@unesco.org with any resources.