Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

In 2018, we launched our mobile school library program and our quest to be "The Village That Reads." Our mobile library initially reached 5 schools with students receiving a library card and checking out books for the first time. Seven years later (and a pandemic to contend with) we are now reaching students and teacehrs at 51 schools! I wish you could be there to see the kids running to check out books and then sharing the titles they selected with their friends. Initially, teachers encouraged students to only check out revision books (to practice for exams), but they have seen how children who are reading on a regular basis are improving academically and more engaged in the classroom!

Thanks to generous donors, we built the first community library for over 100km in 2022. Initially we had 10,000 books, but over the last several years our collection has grown to 54,000 books thanks to BookAid International, Books for Africa and donors from around the world. We are also growing our collection to have books written and published in Kenya in both English and Kiswahali. As the word has spread about our robust collection, parents are bringing their children to our library to receive their first library card.

Our librarian Esther shared with me this week, "We have a new library card holder: Asher. Asher's mother brought him and his big brother to the library since he will be joining grade 1 in January. It was the very first time for Asher to be in the library and he was registered to get a library card. He was excited to read and picked up "Get Up! And in the Bin" by Catherine Baker. Thanks to BookAid International, we have these colorful picture books. Asher shared that he picked up the book because of its illustrations. We are excited that Asher is beginning his reading journey."

Thanks to hundreds of GlobalGiving donors, we have also been able to hold programs like our free Saturday Storytime, the school break Radio Read Aloud program and World Read Aloud Day. We are deeply grateful for your support in helping us be "The Village That Reads." 

During this season of giving, we encourage you to give the gift of reading by making a donation to help grow our library programs to reach more students, teachers and parents.

Wishing you and your family a joyful holidays season and hopefully a little time to read!

Kenya Connect began as a PenPal program to connect children in rural Kenya with children in the U.S. and beyond. In the early days, Co-Founder and Executive Director James Musyoka, would ride his bike up to 20km through the hills of Wamunyu to deliver PenPal letters to children at partner schools. This program helped children in Kenya and the U.S. practice their writing skills while learning about another culture other than their own. James also was able to facilitate school renovations, the provision of sporting equipment and the installation of water tanks thanks to incredible donors like you.

Currently, six members of our staff went to Kenya Connect partner schools in our early days. They participated in PenPal letters and benefitted from having clean water at their schools. Kenya Connect supported some of these students through The School Fund and other programs and they were able to go to University or a diploma school for further education. When visiting schools, Brian Mbuvi, technology program assistant, said, "Sharon, come here. This was my desk in fourth grade." Rael, literacy program assistant, told me about being in The School Fund Scholarship program and how it gave her the support to be able to score high enough to attend University.

We invite you to listen to a podcast hosted by Mercy Karumba, Kenya Connect's Human Resource Director with guests, Rael Mutunge and Brian Mateli who both attended Kenya Connect partner schools. On the podcast, they share what it was like to receive a PenPal letter and how it feels to be implementing Kenya Connect programs. Only 15 minutes in length, it's a wonderful "feel good" during this season of giving. It shows how our work has impacted lives and how some of the beneficiaries like Rael and Brian are playing it forward.

Thank you for your continued support of our programs. We invite you to donate next week on GivingTuesday (December 2) so your gift will be matched by GlobalGiving. As you will see in our campaign, "haba na haba hujaza kibaba" every donation helps fill our basket so our work can make an even bigger impact.

Links:

• Kenya Connect Podcast