Approach
A library is more than a collection of books – and Jim Wolford, a donor from Minneapolis, learnt that the hard way. When he first visited Nakivale and saw children with no access to reading materials, he shipped thousands of books over from the US. They arrived in the wrong languages and sat untouched in their boxes. It was a humbling moment, but an important one. Rather than push ahead with his own vision, Jim went back to the community and started listening – bringing Alight Uganda in as a partner to help make it happen.
Community members, refugee leaders, and school heads were all brought to the table. The library wasn't built overnight – it grew through conversation, small experiments, and a willingness to change course when the community said something wasn't working. What emerged in 2019 belonged to the community from the very start.
(Read more about the library's origin story here).
The Nakivale Community Library Network (NCLN) includes a children's library, a main library, a computer lab, an artist's corner, outdoor play space, and a mobile outreach service that carries books directly into underserved corners of the settlement. The libraries hold collections in five languages across a wide range of subjects. The computer lab is used for digital skills training. And the mobile library teams reach communities that can’t easily come to the library itself. NCLN has hosted spelling bees, debate competitions, reading clubs, art therapy sessions, and a young writers’ program through which participants have illustrated and published their own stories. It has also become a quiet but important referral point for protection and mental health support.
Everything is shaped by what the community asks for. When children got too noisy in the main library, a separate children’s wing was built next door. When adults needed basic English and literacy skills, structured classes were added. When young people asked for a space to tell their own stories, the Illustrated Memoir Project was born.
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