Utilitiesman 2nd Class Joseph Stahl has to use a little muscle when he drills into a concret wall July 5 at a school receiving a library. Seabees with the Combine Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa teamed-up with the U.S. Embassy to build 10 schools in Djibouti as part of Books for Africa a program designed by the Embassy as a way to help communities who otherwise wouldn’t have had the funding required for building a library on their own. US Navy Photo

By: Air Force 1st Lt. Omar Villarreal
July 13, 2006

Camp Lemonier, Djibouti - CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti – Ten schools in Djibouti now have new libraries thanks to Books for Africa, a program involving the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti, local students and Navy Seabees from the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa.

The program, which distributed over 20,000 books in five days, was designed by the Embassy as a way to help communities who otherwise wouldn’t have had the funding required for building a library on their own.

“We’ve had the books in boxes, in a warehouse near the Embassy since May,” said Christy Stoner, public diplomacy officer for the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti. “Books in boxes can’t be used and certainly won’t help any of the students, so we took action.”
Mrs. Stoner went on to say that the children in each of the schools selected for receiving a library want to speak English and by giving their schools dictionaries, encyclopedias and other English books, will help them learn how.

Houssein Abdillahi, a teacher from Nour Al Iman, said he had been working at the school for five years and this is the first time any of his students will have books to read and reference. “The books will be very useful for the students, but for the teachers as well,” Abdillahi said. “The teachers will be able to read the textbooks, learn from them and then teach the students.”

CJTF – HOA Seabees provided the necessary support for making a library possible in each of the schools by building shelves and securing them to walls.

The first two schools received their libraries July 5 and the last two got them today.

Builder 3rd Class Sean Liverpool said putting the shelves together didn’t take a lot of work, but offered a lot of opportunity. “The schools needed shelves for their libraries, so we helped them out,” Liverpool said. “We are here to help people and if building shelves for the schools will help out the students, we will build as many as it takes.”

CJTF – HOA’s mission is focused on conducting operations and training in order to assist host nations establish secure environments and regional stability.

The shelves are just one small project CJTF – HOA Seabees have worked on. The Seabees have built clinics, dormitories and schools through the CJTF – HOA area of responsibility.

U.S. Navy Seabees from the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa teamed-up with the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti July 5 through 13 to build libraries in 10 local schools. Over 20,000 books were delivered to the schools as part of Books for Africa, a program designed by the Embassy as a way to help communities who otherwise wouldn’t have had the funding required for building a library on their own. US Navy Photo

Builder 3rd Class Sean Liverpool straightens books July 5 at a school that just received a new library. Seabees with the Combine Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa teamed-up with the U.S. Embassy to build 10 schools in Djibouti as part of Books for Africa a program designed by the Embassy as a way to help communities who otherwise wouldn’t have had the funding required for building a library on their own. US Navy Photo