Centenary students take books to donate to children in Barbados
Centenary students preparing to leave for Barbados to fulfill their culture credit are also packing and organizing children’s books to donate to local schools and communities. Each student will travel with about 20 pounds of books.
“Having lived in the Caribbean, I am acutely aware that access to books isn’t always easy for students, and many schools may have limited library resources,” said Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy, associate professor of French and Francophone Studies. “This initiative is our way of giving back to the communities we visit. Critically, it also provides a valuable opportunity for our students to engage in service and to think about our role as visitors—emphasizing that we aim not just to learn from our host country, but also to contribute positively.”
Augustin-Billy is leading students on the trip. They will visit two schools during their time in Barbados allowing Centenary students to donate the books and interact with younger citizens. They will be in Barbados from May 16 - 31, 2025. The books were provided by Caddo Parish Schools to Centenary’s Education Department, last summer. The Centenary football team helped transport 80 boxes of books to campus. Students attending the Barbados module were able to select books to take with them, and the rest will be donated to the Magale Library to begin a permanent children’s book collection.
“We greatly appreciate the gift of these books and hope that the children who receive them in Barbados will benefit from the multicultural collection of children’s literature and reference books that our students deliver to them,” said Dr. Joan Turek, visiting assistant professor of Education.
The Barbados trip is one of several faculty-led modules for which students receive college credit. This summer, Centenary students are also visiting Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain; there are two local modules exploring Centenary history and Japanese/American culture. Centenary is known for exposing students to global cultures. In fact, students begin their studies abroad for credit as incoming freshmen with Centenary in Paris.
For more information, contact Catherine Walsh, director of Global Engagement, at cmwalsh1@centenary.edu or call 318.869.5702.