Maasai land, Ngong Hills, Kenya – Summer 2017

In 2017, seven libraries were supplied for schools in Maasai land, Ngong Hills, Kenya. Each school is remote, at least 1 1/2 hours from a main road. The schools are not located in towns. They are located in what is referred to in Africa as the “bush.” Through the books, the world will open to these students. In the non-fiction they will see people from around the world of different cultures. Many of the non-fiction books correlates with the students’ curriculum, but with beautiful pictures and interesting text.

   

    

The primary schools received easy picture books, novels, and non-fiction books. Secondary schools received novels, non-fiction, and reference books. The number of books needed was formulated by tripling the student population at each school. We provided 4 primary libraries and 3 secondary. The schools receiving books:

• Najile Boys Secondary
  • 400 students – 1,207 books
• Ewauso Girls Secondary
  • 300 students – 897 books
• Olasiti Secondary
  • 420 students – 1,155 books
• Ewuaso Primary
  • 1008 students – 2,702 books
• Najile Primary
  • 400 students – 1,797 books
• Seneto Primary
  • 810 students – 2,397 books
• Kipeto Primary
  • 400 students – 1,711 books

Executive Director Trudy Marshall met with all the librarians and principals for training while she was in Kenya. Education officials came to meet with Trudy to offer their thanks for the work of Libraries of Love. In 2018, Libraries of Love is hoping to bring the Kenyan librarians to the two-day training session that is held annually for Ugandan librarians.

 

Class in the library showing off their new books.

Thanks to a special Amazon purchase program created for Libraries of Love by volunteers Jim and Ellen Matthews, each school received 52 African themed books.

There aren’t words to describe the expressions on students’ faces when they first see their library and are given books to read. They totally forget we are there. Love watching their excitement.

Amazing day with the team in the Masa Mara in Kenya. We arrived just in time to see part of the great migration of wildebeest swimming the Mara River from Tanzania into Kenya looking for grass.