THE UMOJA LIBRARY

Building a library at the Umoja Training Centre

By Standing Voice

August 17^th, 2018

The Umoja Training Centre has always been a place to learn and grow. For people with and without albinism, this facility has sought to provide an environment where minds and horizons can be expanded in the pursuit of social inclusion. The completion of our community library this summer is the latest step in that ongoing journey.

Renovated during the 2018 Summer Skills Workshop, the library is now fit to accommodate thousands of books across its handcrafted and lovingly made shelves, courtesy of UK-based fabricators Simon Sawyer and Alex Booker and local carpenter Lusato Mkeke.

“My week started in a timber yard, sourcing materials and tools for the library construction. Once we arrived at the centre, we were fully equipped with timber, saws, screws, sandpaper: everything. The construction itself was exhausting but extremely rewarding. Dense timber. Heat beating down. In England we’re used to electric chop saws, but on Ukerewe, we could only buy hand saws. Fortunately, Simon and I were assisted by the capable hands of Lusato Mkeka, a local carpenter. That made a real difference.” Alex Booker

“The general lack of resources required us to be innovative with design, moulding our plans and adapting them to suit the materials we’d managed to buy. I worked with woodcut print artist and Summer Skills trainer Alex Booker to begin cutting the timber outside, before passing it through the window into the room that would become the centre’s new library.” Simon Sawyer

“The person with whom I worked the most was Lusato Mkeka, a local carpenter from Ukerewe. There was a language barrier, but we communicated with gestures and drawings, and occasional help from interpreters. He was incredibly skilled, even with the limitations of a very basic toolkit by UK standards.” Simon Sawyer

Artist Camille Walala and creative producer Julia Jomaa played their own invaluable part in this process, painting the library’s central wall with a beautiful geometrical mural. Their design included a set of monochromatic circles intended to reflect the mission of the Umoja Training Centre: to bring together people with and without albinism, in beautiful and productive harmony.

“Despite the hard work, it was exciting to be part of a project that had so much value for the local community. The library we built will house thousands of donated books, providing a space of serenity and learning for the people of Ukerewe.” Alex Booker

“It was a pleasure to help transform the UTC into the most productive space it can possibly be. The centre helps people with albinism and their families develop skills, form lasting connections and find solace from the isolation and discrimination that many have suffered throughout their lives.” Simon Sawyer