Librarians Without Borders hosted a launch party in September 2005 in London, Ontario. This event informed guests about our inaugural project in Huambo, Angola and provided an update on our development as an organization. The party was a great success!

Volunteers, library professionals, LWB members and supporters came out to London Public Library to help us celebrate and to learn more about our work. Speeches were given by Melanie Sellar, Founder and Co-Executive Director, Heather McDonald, Co-Executive Director, and Jorge Chimbinda, Angola Project Liaison. Guests also heard from Maria Stam, an author and friend of Jorge who was one of the earliest benefactors of Biblioteca Tutangi in Huambo. These speeches, along with words of encouragement from other attendees and the enthusiasm of the LWB members present, encouraged more people to join us and share in our vision.

Jorge spoke of the dire situation that exists for university students in Huambo and the necessity of getting resources to them. Pictures of the nearly empty library shelves, combined with Jorge's passionate speech about the power of books, helped to reinforce the great need that exists and inspired us in our efforts to provide access to resources for these Angolan students.

Melanie presented an overview of how and why Librarians Without Borders was founded. She also elaborated upon our priorities for the Angola project: acquiring resources and developing partnerships with businesses and organizations to facilitate the delivery of materials to Angola. Heather spoke about the work that LWB members had done to date to advance the organization, the growth we had seen, and the support that was continuing to come from people who heard about us and wanted to help.

The evening would not have been complete without the abundance of good food prepared by our amazing volunteers. Raffle prizes were won, door prizes were given out, and everyone got to learn more about Librarian Without Borders. It was a truly wonderful night and the cutting of the cake officially kicked off our Angola Project.

Thank you to all who attended. And a special thanks to all the volunteers and donor organizations who helped make the evening such a success!