Sierra Leone

Freetown, Sierra Leone --- Tuesday, 20 March 2007 saw the re-opening of the refurbished Kissy Branch Library in the Eastern area of Freetown. The re-opening ceremony celebrated the completion of the rehabilitation of the library, which had not been previously renovated since its construction in 1980. The project, which was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the amount of ten million Leones, is a step by the organisation to eradicate ‘knowledge poverty’ in the country.

In his keynote address at the ceremony, UNDP Poverty Programme Specialist, Stephen Bainous Kargbo stated that according to the Global Human Development Report (GHDR) 2006, 65% of the adult population of Sierra Leone is still illiterate. ”Libraries are our knowledge banks”, Kargbo said. ”We all need to maintain active accounts with them.” He encouraged the public to utilize the facilities of the newly refurbished library. He promised further support from UNDP in the provision of copies of national documents, including the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Report, and the soon-to-be published 2007 National Human Development Report for Sierra Leone.