SFS –Education and Skill Development Institute in partnership with DFID places quality education at the heart of development by promoting literacy and inspire reading culture through mobile library project in Somalia and Somaliland.

 The overall objective of the mobile library project is to improve accessibility and quality of education. Through developing reading skills and reading culture of the children in the targeted regions of Garowe and Galkacio regardless of their clan, economic background and gender. While Mobile Library is still in its nascent phase, we plan to pilot the same model in Bosasso and Mogadishu in the 2^nd phase of the project.

 The mobile library project is the heart of the targeted schools, which itself has learning at its core and good mobile library can empower the schooling children reading culture. The resources in a mobile library allows targeted schooling children imaginations to run free, introduce them to new experiences and promote access to knowledge and enjoyment.

The mobile Library inspires schooling pupils to become independent users of information, but for this to occur, they are given access to learn how to find this information, how to select what is relevant, and how to use it in the best way for their own particular needs, and take responsibility for their own learning/reading.  In collaboration with targeted schools management and teachers, we established ‘Young Readers Clubs’ to promote an interest in mobile library books and reading skills, an idea envisaged in our Education and Skills Development Institute Strategic document.

 The purpose of the project is assisting the Ministry of Education (M.o.E) in managing the huge financial, infrastructural, human and material resources and the logistical implications of working towards a fully functional library and information service for schools by piloting mobile library for the targeted schooling children. In addition to the move to increase access to mobile library and information services, its SFS commitment to increase access to high-quality learning materials; starting by providing textbooks/reading resource for every learner/child in schooling system of the targeted schools

Mobile library project also facilitates teachers to use a broader range of teaching strategies. Individual study, group research, reading comprehension, amongst other things, can all take place and in providing this flexible library for learning, teachers themselves are encouraged to widen and enrich their own teaching strategies. By supporting and giving them access to a broad range of information sources, the mobile library can motivate pupils and stimulate their learning by providing the means to freely pursue subjects which fully engage them and creating reading culture in targeted schools.

The mobile library offers reading resources and IT laboratory that will enable all learners from the targeted schooling community to become critical thinkers and effective users of information in all its formats and media. The mobile library project is linked to Puntland library and Resource Center (PLRC) which is first community library of its kind here in Puntland that offers wider library and Information networks in accordance with the principle of UNESCO school library manifesto.

According to impact of study support research done in developing world, “In all the schools studied, schooling children who participated in study support do better…in academic attainment, attitude to school and attendance at school”