The Tribune

A FORMER elementary school teacher and librarian from Wisconsin, United States, has transformed 12 dilapidated buildings into modern working libraries and community centres for residents in Eleuthera.

Susy Siel and her organisation, Freedom To Read Incorporated, are helping students who suffered learning deficits during the pandemic to get back on track.

So far Ms Siel and Freedom to Read have equipped the 12 libraries with over 150 computers and more than 40,000 books.

“We are very excited about the possibilities we have with the libraries,” said Ms Siel. “We have gotten computers and catalogued tens of thousands of books and created a system to connect the libraries to each other.

“As you know, Eleuthera is a long island with settlements every several miles, so outside of the historic Haynes Library in Governor’s Harbour and Sir George Roberts Library on Harbour Island, there weren’t a lot of modern literacy and information options.”

Ms Siel first became aware of Eleuthera in the 1960s when her parents, who were private pilots, took her and her sisters there, and they grew up considering locals as extended family members.

She went from taking books along with her to read on the beach to establishing small libraries in settlement after settlement.

“We lived in Michigan back then and flew back and forth to Eleuthera several times a year for extended stays. When our parents were busy with their work, they would drop us to Mildred and Emmanuel Thompson in Gregory Town. They really were our adopted family,” Ms Siel fondly recalled. “Most times we really didn’t want to go back home after being with the Thompsons and running around the yard chasing chickens and goats and going to the beach.

“Our family name is Beach so it’s kind of interesting when you think about it because here I am, back at the beach now living full-time in Eleuthera, Bahamas, after growing up and having a career in the US.”

After 27 years of teaching and being a librarian in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Ms Siel traded in snow commutes for water ferry and golf cart commutes and has gone beyond curating books to creating careers for Eleutherans, equipping some who only have a high school diploma with the skills of seasoned librarians.

“What they are learning now took me years to learn,” said Ms Siel of the librarians. “Our mission is to change people’s lives through free access to literacy.

“I want the libraries to be a vibrant, engaging and motivating place for kids to learn and love. I truly value the power of literacy and education in terms of what it can produce for future leaders in The Bahamas.

It costs Ms Siel and her board $340,000 to run the organisation and they have established partnerships with Follett School Solutions from Illinois.

She has also partnered with other like-minded non-profit agencies in The Bahamas, specifically in Eleuthera, especially with regards to construction and cleaning. Ms Siel also does her best to secure grants, which help with shipping books and computers, renovations and professional development for the library staff.