DAYTON, Ohio — A retired Ohio teacher, former students and Dayton city officials went halfway across the world for books. They’re trying to get as many of them to Liberia, Africa, and build a library there. 

What You Need To Know

  • Retired teacher Veleta Jenkins teamed up with her former student from Africa to build the first public library there 

  • The team has been trying to raise money for the last three years and recently went on a trip to see the land where it would go 

  • They ended up with more donated land after the trip and plan to start more construction once they revamp their plans to build a bigger library there 

Veleta Jenkins is a retired English teacher in Dayton with a passion for books and for the first time, she saw a school that didn’t have any books.

“It is a tragedy, and it’s a shame to say that you’re sending your child to school and they have no books,” said Jenkins.

“That just really tore me up because I said, well, if there are no books in, how do the children learn? And they said, well, you know, the teachers have a book, a little set of books, and they write all the lessons on a blackboard with the chalk and then the children have to take notes in a composition book, and sometimes that’s even a struggle to get a composition book,” said Jenkins. 

She recently spent a week in Liberia to see where the money would be going.

“One little girl, beautiful little girl, came up to me and she grabbed my hand and she says, ‘Ma’am, are you going to ask the people in America to help us?’ I said, ‘I’m going to be your voice. And yes, I am,” said Jenkins.

Her fundraising efforts started three years ago after she saw the conditions there. 

It’s the reason she teamed up with one of her old students from Africa to start building a library. When she got there, she said they ended up with even more land to do it.

“It was just a blessing,” Jenkins said. “It was such a blessing because we went there expecting two acres of land and the city officials were so gracious and so excited about the opportunity to have a library in their country that they donated five acres of land to us.”

She promised kids in Africa that they’d have that library, but she said they have to revamp their plans to build it bigger, and they’re still trying to raise more funds before construction begins. She said it’ll be worth it.

“What a beautiful way to give back the gift of literacy,” she said. “And that’s what I intend to do.”

For more information or if you’d like to help with the “Library for Africa,” click here.