Milestone for Fez Medina Children's Library

In January the Medina Children's Library will be two years old. In that time, more than 25,000 visits will have been made by local children to the small space off one of the main streets in the Fez Medina. It's the only children's library in the whole city. To keep the doors open, the Library is seeking donations.

Samia Bachroui, 23, has been working as a librarian for the past year.  She says, "I've seen the improvement in the children." Many visit regularly and Samia says, "their level of expression is better now."

Librarian Samia Bachroui reads to a visiting school group

The Library was founded in January 2014 by a group of friends who live in the Fez Medina, to encourage a love of reading among local children. It has books in Arabic, French and some in English. It is a non-profit association and depends entirely on private donations to cover the costs of books, librarian staffing, rent, and operating expenses.

One of the regular library users is Sabrine, who is 11 years old. "The Medina Children's Library is the first library I have ever been in. It is in my neighbourhood, so it is easy for me to be there every day. This library made me love reading and discover a lot of useful books."

The library holds regular story time activities, hosts visits from school classes, holds occasional craft workshops, and runs excursions to significant sites in the Fez medina, so local children can further discover the heritage of their ancient city.

Kawtar, who is 7 years old, visits the Library every day. "The library is my special place," she says. "I like to go to there because there are a lot of books that I like and a lot of activities like story time."

Samia has a BA in English Literature. She says, "When I was a child there was no opportunity to read books...The (Medina Children's) Library is very important to the local community. The children love the Library and the books we have. Parents trust us - when they send their child to the Library, they feel they are in a safe world."

The View From Fez is a sponsor of the Medina Children's Library, and encourages donations to this worthwhile cause. 100% of donations will go towards the Library. To make a donation via PayPal, please visit the Medina Children's Library website. CLICK HERE.

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