Just Be A Child - Library & Learning Centre

Covid continues to dominate the lives of many around the World and our Kenyan communities are no different. Despite the social distancing rules, the every-changing curfews, and the increasing prices of raw material, we have managed to convert the two 40ft containers into wonderful, colourful and free spaces where children can read, learn and be creative.

The school closures in Kenya lasted 12 months and we know from our older, established libraries that this had a profound effect on the children’s development. Unlike in the UK for example, where lessons moved online and web-based learning became the norm, many Kenyan families couldn’t provide their children with any form of education. They either lacked the knowledge themselves or they didn’t have access to the online resources.

The most incredible thing was though, our librarians stepped up and created lessons where they acted as tutors, lecturers, and support workers. They saw the importance of continued education and knew what they have to do to help. We are pretty confident that our two new libraries will follow suit and we are also pretty confident that the changes in attitudes towards education and self-reliance is due to the communities’ engagement with our libraries.

And so, despite, or perhaps because of Covid, we at Just be a Child will continue to work on establishing more community partnerships leading to more fully stocked libraries run by consciousness, incredible and extremely dedicated volunteers. So, help us, if you can, to make sure that at least one library is built every year reaching at least 30 libraries by 2030. Thank you.