A Library For Tara

After Tara became late I purchased a brick as part of a library fund raiser. The brick says, "Tara Lee Dirst, 1973-2007, Best Friend." Every time I go into the library I stop and look at the brick and dust it off. However, I got to thinking that what I would really like to do is name an entire library for Tara.

A brick is about all I can afford to purchase as a memorial for Tara in The States. Tara loved books, loved to read, and loved being a librarian. A library named for her would be a fitting memorial. One day the idea came to me that I could name a library for Tara if the library was not in The States. The library could be in a place where a library is sorely needed. The thought instantly came to my mind to find a way to build a library in the village of Bawa in the West Province of Cameroon, Africa.

The idea of building the library in Cameroon was not random because I was also sitting at a board meeting of the Bawa Health Initiative. The Bawa Health Initiative is a non-profit group based in Wallingford, CT and Bawa, Cameroon. It was established by my friends Dr. Dennis Richardson and Dr. Blaise Dondji in order to provide health care and eventually build a health clinic in Bawa. More information about The Bawa Health Initiative can be found at the web site: http://www.bawahealth.org/ .

On his recent trip to Bawa I asked Dr. Dondji to get an estimate of what it would cost to build a library in Bawa. His estimate was roughly $9130 USD for the building, furniture, and generator. My goal is to raise $10,000 USD so I'll also have some money for collection development.

I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to raise $10,000. I guess I'll have to be creative. Perhaps YOU are willing to help. Let me know. You can e-mail me at sciencelibrarian at hot mail dot com. Thank you!