“Lubuto” is a word in the central African Bemba language meaning “knowledge, enlightenment, and light.” What better name for the library project begun by librarian Jane Kinney Meyers, which has established open-access libraries to serve Africa’s poorest children? The project began as “street kids library” at a drop-in shelter in Lusaka, Zambia, built from a used 20-foot shipping container. From there, the project created three model libraries in Zambia that contained pre-packed complete collections of children’s books. The libraries are designed to give hope to kids whose futures have been devastated by the AIDS crisis in Africa.
