News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Chloe and Deri Frazee hold the sign for the Chloe & Deri Library. photo provided
Children were captivated
Books are a treasure in the outlying villages of Nepal. In a place where goods must be packed in over rugged mountain roads, books are a scarce commodity. Now, thanks to the efforts of a Sisters girl, the village of Simma has its own library.
Chloe Frazee raised $1,200 over the past two years, which is enough for the Sisters-based nonprofit Ten Friends to build a library in one of the villages in Nepal that the charity serves. Ten Friends names the libraries after their patrons.
It all started with Chloe's participation in a fundraising event.
"It's called Run For Nepal, and it raises money for kids to have libraries in Nepal," the 9-year-old fourth-grader explained.
She was inspired.
"She decided to go for it on her own and raise money for a library," said Sally Benton, a key volunteer with Ten Friends.
She made and sold book marks, contributed "tooth fairy money," sought donations from friends and family and got help from the Three Sisters Lions Club.
"I really wanted to have a library named after me, and I also wanted kids to be able to read books where they don't have a lot of books where they live," Chloe said.
Benton explained that Nepalese students have textbooks, but very few books to read, and there are no books in village homes. Ten Friends asked village leaders to name priorities for services, and libraries were close to the top of the list. About 75 to 80 percent of the books are in Nepalese; the remainder are in English, which many Nepalese learn.
"We buy the books in Nepal, because we like to keep all the money in the (local) economy if we can," Benton said.
The villages provide the space, and Ten Friends provides the books.
"If they don't have electricity, we put in a solar light," Benton said.
The founding of a library is a big deal.
"When you go to these places, it's a huge community celebration," Benton said. "It means so much to them; they throw a huge party. Their world is pretty limited ... this brings the world to them."
Ten Friends has built numerous such libraries, and named them after beloved Sisters educators who have passed on: Diane Jacobsen; John Mcadams; Rob Kurtz; Nick Fouts.
Chloe was very happy to have a library named in her honor, and teared up while looking at pictures Benton provided of the villagers looking at the books her fundraising efforts provided.
"Her initiative was amazing," Benton said. "Ten Friends really appreciates her help. It makes a difference."
For more information on Ten Friends and their library initiative, visit
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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