Library Needs Our Help

I know that you are probably wondering. . . why is Sandi posting?  She said that she was taking a break for the summer.  


Well yes, I am taking a modified break, as I a truly incapable of taking a complete break.  


Recently Lesely Koyi, who was interviewed in Words From the Wise in May, contacted me about a library in Kenya that is in great need.  

As you may recall, Lesley is a librarian and poet.  He recently launched a boys lit club for his local community and they are in desperate need of books.  I interviewed Lesley a few days ago about his new project so that we all have the information that we need to help these kids have access to books.  Please read the interview below.

Hi Sandi,
Good morning from Kenya.  It's a bright morning over here, and I must say I am honored  very much to be hosted by you for another interview. I therefore wish to offer my sincere answers to the questions asked by you as follows.

1. Can you tell me about the organization that you are collecting books for?  History of the organization and where things are at right now.

The organization that I am collecting books for is called Single Mothers Association of Kenya. This organization has a community library in which, as a professional librarian, I am interested in seeing it come out from its death bed. It is not in use because it does not have books and has a number of infrastructural issues to be addressed. It is built of iron sheets and it has some parts of it exposed to the entrance of dust.  I felt as a librarian, I would use my experience and network of friends to help it grow.  First, I must state also that the main thing that made me become aware of the plight of this library is when I decided to approach the Director of the site, Mrs. Angeline Nandwa to ask her to allow me to start a Boys Litclub within the library.

The history of this organization is that Single Mothers Association of Kenya is a non-profit community based organization that was formed in 1991, and legally registered under the ministry of culture and social services. This ministry is committed to addressing major problems facing the single adolescent mothers and the vulnerable girls within the slums communities in Nairobi and other parts of the country. This they do through offering vocational training to the women, girls and boys. The training is to help them become self employed in the future.  The training is offered in tailoring and dress making, welding and fabrication, embroidery, bead and leather work, electrification skills, and also voluntary counselling and testing, and then last but not least, the community library services. The community being catered for in the projects of Single Mothers Association of Kenya is one that is riddled with drugs, crime, high level of school drop outs, unwanted pregnancies and poverty. This, therefore, makes it impossible for the majority of parents to afford the buying of books for their children as this is challenged by the need to put food on the table. It is a hustle, if not a struggle for many to gain access to the 3 basic needs--food, shelter, and clothing.  Currently, because of many financial challenges that Angeline has faced in the running of this project, the library has suffered the most with no books and dusty shelves. This is where I think and wish I can help by getting good friends who will stand with me and make the availability of books to this community and children become a reality. Knowledge is power, and that will transform this community both socially and economically.


2. How did you become involved, and what do you do?

As stated earlier, I became involved when after undergoing a facilitator training with Litworld, I was given a thumbs up to open a Boys Litclub in my community. That is when I started looking for a conducive site for boys to come and meet without disruption.  Single Mothers Association of Kenya was the best site for us, and while here, I noticed the big problem with the library section.  So currently, I am honestly looking for good people all over the world who will feel the need to donate and send over some books for this library so that it can become a vibrant hub of knowledge to the community as a whole.  I would have sat back comfortably as I have my own job where I work as a librarian, but with this library reeling to oblivion I think I cannot have my peace, and that's why I appeal for help.

3. Who are the children that you are servicing?  How many children, ages, are they in school, what are their home lives like?

The children i am servicing in my Litclub are boys but i have under way plans to include the girls and mums by getting them their own Litclubs too so that they can also get engaged in matters of literacy, i am servicing about 20 kids of between ages of 12-14 years old.Since Litworld offers a different forum from a normal school curricular this boys attend the Boys Litclub meetings on Saturday and Sunday afternoon after their normal school.As stated earlier this kids are coming out from poor family back grounds and from homes faced with a number of challenges in an environment that has lots of vices.I must state before i forget too that Litworld encourages the culture of reading and writing all over the world for kids and its upon this back drop that we are in need books down here.


4. How many books do you currently have and what are your most urgent needs in terms of type of book that you are looking for?

Currently I have very few books, and most of them not of use to these kids. These books are about 150 in number.  My most urgent needs in terms of books are books that can be of use to kids let me say all children's books, be it picture books, chapter books, fiction and all manner of story books and not forgetting academic ones if possible.

Sandi, I must say thanks very much for hosting me again for another interview and this is a sure sign that you are touched with my endeavor to enrich the kids with books. I believe  with your support this will no longer be a long journey and never will it be a far cry anymore. Please feel free to include the link to my blog so that the world can know how I feel about the development of the library in Africa and Kenya to be precise. 


As you can see by reading Lesley's responses to my questions, this is a desperate situation.  Please reach into your hearts and send some new or previously loved books to Lesley--the boys and their families need our help.


Lesley Koyi
SINGLE MOTHERS ASSOCIATION OF KENYA 
P.O.BOX 75603-00200
Nairobi, Kenya


**ON THE PACKAGE BE SURE TO MARK THAT THIS IS A DONATION SO THAT THE SINGLE MOTHERS ASSOCIATION DOES NOT HAVE TO PAY CUSTOMS FEES WHEN THEY PICK UP AT THE POST OFFICE***

Words From the Wise #13--Lesley Koyi

Today I had the great honor and pleasure of interviewing poet, Lesely Koyi.  Lesley is an Information Consultant and Librarian from Nairobi, Kenya.  I could not be more thrilled to be having literary information from around the globe on Words From the Wise.  Sometimes we all get so focused on what we are doing here at home, that we forget about the children who live in other parts of the world.  Lesley was a participant, a very special participant, in World Read Aloud Day.  I hope that you enjoy learning more about this fascinating man.

1.  As a librarian, and a poet you became involved with World Read Aloud Day.  Can you describe your involvement?

Yes I did indeed take part in this year’s World Read Aloud Day, and I must say it was quite a fantastic experience because the World Read Aloud Day became a launching pad for me on how much a wider readership my poems can attract world over. So my involvement with World Read Aloud Day this year March 7 2012 was, first I took part as a guest reader via skype and also my involvement to writing a poem which I titled “The World Read Aloud Day Poem”. This poem was posted on the Litworld website and seen world over and also sent by Litworld to about 3000 friends world over in celebrating this years World Read Aloud Day.

I hope that you don't mind Lesley, but I posted your poem here for all to enjoy!

THE WORLD READ ALOUD DAY

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations,

I listen to the story and what a story it is,

The story carries my mind and memory to far flung places,

But then

I realize I have had a journey of the mind and for a moment,

I forget about my environment and all my challenges in life.

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations,

I want to know why the voice reads aloud to the nations,

I am told it’s the worlds read aloud day.

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations

It mingles with the tweet of the singing birds, for a morning

Wake up call, for it’s just but morning,

The sun is just but rising, but the voice still goes on and strong,

The story carries with it the tells of literacy to the world, that the young

In the world can grow with strong minds of understanding and knowledge for life.

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations,

I listen to the story and what a story it is,

The sweet voice mingle with various other voices of nature,

The birds chirping, the sun rising, the wind blowing, the trees swaying,

The waves rising and the plains soaring with life.

Then I realize it’s not only, a voice reading aloud to the nations,

But its voices reading, all over the world, and finally,

The sun has gone down, its night and the bats are flying by,

I then continue to hear many other voices read aloud to,

The children into the deep of the night making it full of life.

2.  This blog has followers from all around the world, however, most are in the United States.  Please describe the way the school systems function in Kenya.  

The School systems in Kenya are run on an 8-4-4 system, and basically this means 8 years in primary school education, 4 years in secondary school education and lastly 4 years in university education.

3.  Can you describe what literacy  is like in Kenya?  Are parents actively involved in teaching their children to read or is this something that is primarily learned at school?

 Despite the fact that Kenyans are a knowledgeable lot literacy in Kenya is still a growing endeavor .Some if not many parents do leave the work to the teachers to teach their children how to read but a few parents take an active role in teaching their kids how to read and personally I was lucky when my mum taught me how to read my first book at class three.

4.  Describe your poetry for us.  What inspires you? What types of topics do you most enjoy writing about, and what is your writing process when it comes to a new poem?

My poetry has a great connotation to my own personal endeavors in life and that is from my childhood as a little boy to date. Bearing in mind the various environments I have encountered and life’s experiences in many areas. My poems major on topics of Hope and encouragements through life. My writing process starts with an inspiration, I must for sure get inspired to write a poem and this comes up mostly on the issues I have in my mind that I need a deeper expression about. I personally write my poems in any environment and I do my poems on a single seating by a stroke of the pen, that is my pen is only put down after I have put my inspired poem on paper then I can come back afterwards to edit and do reconstructing where necessary.

5.  Which poets do you most admire and why?

I admire poets like Okot p’Bitek, Adrienne Rich, and this poets use quite a powerful choice of words to pass their message to the readers and they also draw much of their work from personal experiences in life which is one strong factor with me and my poems.

6.  What goals do you have for yourself as a poet?

 My goals as a poet is to write poems that people across all cross sectional divides can draw strength from even in the most difficult and challenging circumstances in life, and more so as a librarian my joy is to make my poems simple and easy to understand to all and also become resourceful and intellectual materials full of information that appeals to all humanity no matter race, creed, religion and any social background. I want to see my poems being a unifying factor in the world as a whole.

Please be sure to stop by Lesley's blog, Lesley Koyi Information Consultancy to read more of his fantastic poetry!