By Taylor Luck

AMMAN - Anjara children will now have a place to read and learn, under a new pilot project initiated by the Polish government.

Under a programme entitled “Maktabti,” or my library, a learning centre was established adjacent to the Latin School in Anjara, which hosts 200 students between the ages of 6 and 16.

The new children’s library is financed by a $35,000 grant by the Polish ministry of foreign affairs and implemented by the Family International Community Services (FICS).

“We feel strongly that this programme will benefit schools and communities by providing books so that children can experience the excitement and benefits of learning through reading,” Polish Ambassador in Amman Andrzej Biera said at a press conference yesterday to announce the project.

Thousands of children’s books in both English and Arabic, including 2,500 of the latest titles from the Beirut Arab book fair, will adorn the library, which will also be open to the public.

The library’s computer centre will provide students with e-learning tools, through three computers equipped with Internet access and other multimedia learning programmes.

Father Hanna Keidani, headmaster of the Latin School, said the institution serves children of different faiths, stressing that the library will be for the wider community of the greater Ajloun area.

“Children are our future and it is important that we take care of our future,” Keidani noted.

FICS official Mark Thamm said Anjara was chosen as it was designated by the government as a poverty pocket and expressed hope that it will be the first of many such libraries in limited-income areas.

“Opening a book broadens a child’s horizons and allows them to accomplish their dreams. Every child in every region should be able to enjoy this,” Thamm told The Jordan Times.

FICS is a nonprofit organisation that offers counselling, material and practical assistance to orphanages, refugee camps, schools and hospitals.

Working in Jordan since 1993, FICS has worked on projects with organisations such as the Haya Cultural Centre, and Al Hussein Cancer Centre Society for the Physically Challenged.

The Anjara children’s library will be unveiled in a ceremony on Friday.