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If they can do it in Rwanda, so can we!
Though I often scan The Rotarian, the magazine for Rotary members, I'm more
likely to head for Stripped Gears, a collection of lame jokes, than read a
serious article like the recent one about Rotarian Beth Payne, whose work
for the State Dept. has taken her to more than one distressed nation.
That's how she joined the newly formed Kigali-Virunga Rotary Club in
Rwanda, a country that's endured more than its share of misery.
"Initially club members used the meetings to get to know one another and
learn more about Rotary. Then (how) to help the communityS" There were many
possible projects, from road safety to artificial limbs, HIV, street
children, or poverty reduction. "What do we give to our community that will
make a difference in every one of our needs?"
Their conclusion: "access to education and ideasS" Their ambitious million
dollar project was the founding of Rwanda's first public library.
Most Rwandans have never seen a book about their own history. It goes
without saying most have no access to the facts of the modern world. No
wonder Hutus and Tutsis have been at loggerheads. They don't know much
about each other, or about the rest of us. Without libraries, Rwandans in
search of information are thwarted at every turn.
Just as the people of Rwanda hunger for access to ideas, perhaps it's time
to renew your library card and head for the Pacifica or Sanchez branches.
Feed your hunger for information. Beth's story made me realize how easy it
is to take libraries for granted. If Pacificans fully appreciated the power
of libraries to increase their access to knowledge, they'd be waving signs
and marching in front of the homes of the members of the Board of
Supervisors, demanding more library services, longer library hours, and
more library space in Pacifica. We have only 10,000 square feet, divided
into two branches. Our libraries need 30,000 square feet, more books, more
computers, more tables, more chairs, more shelves filled with accessible
knowledge. Can you imagine the power of a thousand Pacificans on the march?
"We demand more books, more space, more hours, MORE KNOWLEDGE!!!" If folks
in a poor nation like Rwanda can raise $1.2 million for a library, San
Mateo County can help Pacifica expand its libraries. It's time we got going
on it.
While we're discussing the power of ordinary citizens to effect change, I
hope some of the retired citizens who live in Fairmont will get off their
collective apathy and take some pride in their community. I recently spent
a 15 hour day as an election official at the Fairmont Recreation Center.
The three other election officials with whom I spent the day couldn't have
been nicer, but it was a lonely place. 21 folks made it to the precinct to
vote, out of 936 registered. It's true 183 had received absentee ballots,
so perhaps the total votes from that precinct were not as dismal as it
appeared, but 21 voters is terrible.
The highlight of the day was the man from Public Works who fixed an
interior door so it could be closed. However, the Rec Center, which is also
the home of the Fairmont Subdivisions Improvement Association, is a fine
example of deferred maintenance, deferred, perhaps, for thirty years or
more. It's obvious the roof leaks. Windows need cleaning. Walls need a
scrub. It appears nobody's given a damn since 1967, when Henry Doelger gave
the building to the community. Volunteers are badly needed, assuming anyone
in Fairmont cares. Do they?
The Reactor can be e mailed at Paul@thereactor.net.
Check The Reactor's website at www.thereactor.net.
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