Just Be A Child - Library & Learning Centre

Books don’t belong in landfill.  They belong in the hands of children.

“When I first heard Lenka (the Founder of Just be a Child (JBAC)) speak at our Rotary Club I was instantly hooked,” says Alex from Stevenage Rotary.  “It wasn’t just her passion and enthusiasm for the charity, but it was also the beautiful simplicity of the project.  I could see it happening – take an unwanted book from the UK and give it to a child in Kenya.  And create a library from the container in which you ship it over,” he adds.

Stevenage Rotary Club was the first of what has turned out to be many Rotary Clubs supporting Just be a Child – only a few are mentioned in this article.  The involvement of Stevenage and Barton-le-Clay Rotary Clubs began with a successful application for District grants in 2014 and 2019 respectively, to support the construction of a children’s playgrounds in pre-selected rural communities in Kenya, as a precursor to the establishment of the community-owned and operated libraries.  Materials for the playground were sourced locally, then fabricated and installed by local metal-workers and volunteers from the communities.  The reason for creating the playgrounds in the first instance was that past experience had shown that it helps to secure community commitment and ownership, paving the way for the library (on the same site) and improving its educational impact.  The construction of a community Library and Learning Centre, from the conversion of a 40ft shipping container, follows the playground six months later.

The library project itself offers plenty of challenges.  A shipping container full of books is a sizeable, bulky and weighty object and, even if a suitable flat-bed truck can be obtained, there is unlikely to be heavy-lifting gear available at the ultimate destination.  So all sorts of techniques have been tried and developed to get the container off the truck and into its correct location, often involving the whole community to provide the necessary ‘muscle’. 

Enthusiasm usually pays off and, once in position, work begins on cutting and fitting windows, painting the inside and outside, building and installing shelving and desks, and then stocking the shelves with all the books shipped from the UK.  The new libraries have proved extremely popular and very well used.  Every child is given at least one book to keep, more often than not the first and only book they have ever owned.

Many more Rotary Clubs found means to support JBAC in ways other than financial and it is wonderful how they each developed their own unique method of supporting the charity.  “We have also contacted schools in our area and collected books through them,” explains Myles from Barton-le-Clay.  “This led to a fantastic volunteer day for the children at Arnold Academy, but also for our own Rotarians.  Not to mention that we finally found an amazing outlet for all the no longer needed microscopes donated by L J Smith Microscopes of Potton,” he adds enthusiastically.

“We decided to put a shout out in the press in Darlington and started collecting books for JBAC about two years ago,” adds Peter from Darlington.  “The feedback we get from the public, schools and colleges is pretty overwhelming and the activity itself very rewarding.”  Peter smiles at the memory of the physical exhaustion when packing the 10,000 books they have collected in less than six months.

“Our Club wanted to ship books to the school we support in Watamu, Kenya for really quite a while, but it never seemed possible.  Not until we found JBAC.  They very kindly shipped, at a small cost, the thousands of books we had collected,” says Jackie from Somer Valley Rotary Club.  “Quotes from commercial companies were so far out of the reach of our small Club.  Our sponsored school is now able to boast an extensive library that not only supports the school but the extending community also, raising much needed literacy levels,”  Jackie adds.

“We too wanted to ship tools to Kenya, but until we partnered up with JBAC it wasn’t possible.  With JBAC we know it gets there safely and the cost of the shipping with them is negligible compared with commercial companies,” states Alan from Trade Aid, which is Grantham Rotary Club’s project.

All the Clubs send representatives to the various volunteer days at Dollimore & Christie, a removals and storage company based in Hitchin who generously host the JBAC operation and sorting facility.  “We get the chance to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in,” Gabriella from Hitchin Priory Rotary Club explains.  “The annual Loading Days are so much fun but hard work and we feel utterly exhausted yet completely elated at the end of the three hours loading the 30,000+ books into the 40ft shipping container.  We highly recommend joining on the day,” they all agreed.

But the Rotary collaboration doesn’t stop there.  The Golden and San Ramon Rotary Clubs from the US participated financially and the Literary Rotary Action Group (LITRAG) promoted JBAC in their magazine.  Books For Africa, which is itself supported by US Rotaries, has become a partner of JBAC helping each other achieve their goals.

In Kenya, Rotary Clubs from up and down the country benefit from JBAC’s work as well as contributing match-funding; twelve Rotary Clubs received 1,000 books each for their own distribution, and the cooperation has only just started.  We anticipate that over 10,000 books will be donated to Rotary Clubs in Kenya in the next five years.

Just be a Child has already built seven playgrounds and seven libraries and it hopes to build more in the years to come.  In order to achieve their mission, JBAC is seeking Clubs in all Countries to be its Ambassadors, representatives, recipients or just plain supporters. 

To learn more about Just be a Child visit www.justbeachild.org.uk or contact any of the clubs mentioned.  If your club has a project or a school in Kenya and would like to ship something to them, email Lenka@justbeachild.com.  If your Club is based in Kenya, JBAC’s Kenyan representative can be contacted on +254 717580218.

• From UK loading to completed Library. (DOCX)