FORMER Member of Parliament for Soufriere, Attorney J. Baden Allain has made a contribution of some 250 books from his personal collection to the Soufriere Library.
Allain told THE VOICE that the gesture was intended to encourage the townspeople, especially the young, to do more reading. He said the collection covers a wide range of subjects by some outstanding West Indian authors like George Lamming, Walter Rodney, Eric Wiliams, Franz Fanon.
Also included are books by Bertrand Russell and James Baldwin.
Allain said he visits the Soufriere library often and realized that its book collection needed upgrading. He added: “As a senior citizen on the way out I thought I should donate part of my collection which I have amassed over the last 60 or so years. I am hoping by this gesture to motivate more people to read and avail themselves of knowledge which is so important in this day and age.”
Apart from representing Soufriere, Allain also served as Speaker of the House of Assembly and was a member of the Electoral Commission.
Allain attributes part of his achievements in life to the encouragement of the renowned Soufriere school principal the late Anthony Saltibus, himself another former Soufriere M.P. Saltibus, he explained, had constantly sought to instill in his students the importance and value of reading.