Mogadishu Public Library Appeal

Imagine !!

Living, studying or growing up in a country where there are no public libraries! Mogadishu Public library founded by Zaylai foundation is the only public library in Mogadishu and its surrounding area.

Somali Educational System at Glance

Prior to the Civil War (1988)

• Educational status; State run education, free and compulsory.
• Literacy rate: Above 70% by 1980
• Number of universities: The Somalia National University, only
• National libraries: Main national library, only one in Mogadishu.
• Secondary and collages; All across the country.
• Media and freedom of expression: Under high scrutiny.

The Age of Destruction

After the Civil War from 1991

• The educational system has virtually collapsed and most schools and universities have been closed
• The Somali National University, which was founded in 1954 in Mogadishu, had to close its doors to some 7,000 students.
• Survey of Primary Schools in Somalia for 2002-2003 provided by UNICEF shows that Somalia has one of the lowest primary school enrolment rates in the world.
• Over a decade of conflict has meant two generations of young people missing out on education.

New Hope

(from 1998 onwards)

• With no and/or limited governmental and international support a privately-run and fragile community associations, has re-established the basis for the educational institutions.
• They have succeeded to set up, up to the secondary schooling in almost all the main towns and cities in the country.
• 1,150 primary and secondary schools are now up and running with new books and a national curriculum.
• More than 20 universities and associated centres are up and running (Mainly small and privately-run institutions).
• Successful stories are reported daily.