Yei lives in Sierra Leone. This country is very poor and very few people can afford to buy books of their own. Because of this they rely on the local library or school. But often, the schools have only a few old and tatty text books that are not very popular with young readers. The librarians at the national library have a project which is helping to encourage many more children to become interested in reading. They take collections of fun and colourful books out to local schools and children are encouraged to borrow them and write reviews of the books they have read.

Introduction

Immanuel

Yei

Yei's story

Yei is from Sierra Leone.

A few years ago there was a civil war in Sierra Leone. She was just seven years old at the time. Rebels attacked her town and unfortunately both of Yei's parents were killed. The rebels kidnapped Yei and forced her to go along with them. They planned to make her become a child soldier. Luckily, she escaped during a fight between different troops.

For six years Yei then lived in a refugee camp but she now has a permanent home and a family to look after her. She also has a place in school. The school's library has a good range of books, donated through Book Aid International.

Yei now loves reading. She even takes books home to read aloud to her new guardians. They enjoy hearing the stories, although they cannot read themselves.