A Special Library in Samoa

This time last year I was in Samoa with some members of my family enjoying a winter getaway. We spent a few days at Lalomanu on the south east coast of Upolu. Lalomanu is a beautiful place and we met some lovely people there. We stayed in a fale on the beach. The fales had just been rebuilt after the tsunami in 2009 had wiped out all of the buildings in the lower part of Lalomanu. Part of the village was on higher ground and escaped the tsunami, including the hospital and school. We visited the school during the weekend and Zak played touch with some of the children there.

I recently learned via the internet that a library has been built at Lalomanu School since we were there. It was the result of a project undertaken by an Australian couple as a tribute to their six year old daughter, Clea, who died in the tsunami. Her parents, Jorge Salavert and Trudie Wykes, decided that building a library would be a fitting tribute to Clea (who loved reading) and it would be a meaningful way to contribute to the community to which they will forever be linked through tragic loss. The Salavert - Wykes family, with the help of family, friends and community, including Clea's school, organised fundraising, book collections and the building and furnishing of a library at Lalomanu School.

I think the library is a wonderful tribute to Clea and will help create a positive future through literacy and education for the young people of Lalomanu.


Images of the Clea Salavert Library by the Library Association of Samoa