The Mobile Library Pilot Project

closed

The main objective of this project is to provide increased access to literacy and IT training courses for young people (ages 10-25) from Maroon and indigenous communities in rural districts and the Interior of Suriname, who are enrolled in schools as well as those who have dropped out of school. Through the use of the CCS Mobile Library, literacy and IT training and resources would be brought to remote communities, thereby enabling Maroon and indigenous youth to access useful educational resources as well as benefit from literacy and IT skills development courses. Given the myriad challenges faced by young people in the Interior in getting access to quality education and training, this project would bring targeted literacy and IT training as well as educational support to youth in indigenous and Maroon communities. In so doing, it would not only contribute to improving literacy levels and IT skill levels in the short term but also foster greater social inclusion and participation of traditionally excluded groups by preparing Maroon and indigenous young people to be able to qualify for and maximize higher education and employment opportunities, in the medium and long term. The project will also serve to support the government's strategic focus on the Integration of the Interior which, as outlined in the IDB Country Strategy 2006-2010, specifically seeks to promote the social and economic inclusion of Maroons and indigenous peoples. By working at the grassroots level with established NGOs that are trusted and respected by the communities in the Interior, the project will bring education, library and information technology services typically only available in a few communities in and around the capital city, Paramaribo, to more remote communities in the Interior of Suriname. In so doing, this project would also support the Bank's Opportunities for the Majority Initiative by increasing the access of low-income groups to information technology tools and training. Furthermore, this pilot project has significant potential to serve as a catalyst for strengthening collaboration and partnership among NGOs, government Ministries and private sector companies, which would be targeted during fundraising activities to support the future expansion of the project to additional communities in the Interior.