Kasadwini Atenaeɛ

In 2015 we partnered with Colorado-based architects Steve Blackburn and Dedy Rusli to design our first literacy center. Our goal was to create a building that would bring our vision of community-oriented learning to life through an inviting and functional space.

They blew us away with their design. We brought them rough sketches and measurements of the land we had been given by the community elders of Asisiriwa, and they turned it into a gorgeous building design that had it all: sustainable sourcing of materials; an innovative floating roof design inspired by this TED talk by visionary Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, including skylights made of earthenware pots; and a bookish design style, with walls etched vertically to recall pages, vertical windows that look like the spines of books, a barn door-cum-blackboard that would connect the classroom to the semi-outdoor amphitheater.

A promotional video we made using their renderings.

While the reality of building in Ghana meant that not all of those elements remained in the final product, the key aspects of the literacy center were preserved throughout:

A library filled with a curated catalog of African literature, African American literature, reference and textbooks, and children’s books featuring Black protagonists. We have also partnered with the Bureau of Ghana Languages to provide novels, stories, textbooks, and drama in Asante Twi, Mfantse (or Fante), Akuapem Twi, and Nzema.
A semi-outdoor amphitheater-style community space designed for performances, lectures, reading, or just hanging out. The steps can comfortably seat around 100 students.
A classroom that will offer extracurricular literacy classes for children and adults in both English (the official language) and Asante Twi (the local language). In the future it will also house writing workshops in both Asante Twi and English.
A hanging roof suspended above the entire center made of corrugated metal and featuring fiberglass skylights. This design keeps the center cool by allowing for continual airflow, ensuring hot air doesn’t get trapped in the roof. The breeziness and skylights mean the center can function without relying on Ghana’s often unreliable power grid.
A Polytank for water collection for the community (coming soon!) that will collect rainwater from the roof during the rainy season.

We are also proud of the fact that the library is staffed by two librarians local to Asisiriwa, Kumi Kwadwo and Mary Akayini. Both have received training through the Osu Children’s Library Fund, and bring enthusiasm, imagination, and professionalism to the library.