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Supporter News | From one library to thousands of learners
Often, supporting education starts with something as simple as making sure a child has a book to read. In Ndhiwa, our partner organisation Twende Pamoja opened a Community Library in 2013, starting with around 1,500 books and learning materials. In 2019, it moved into a new Learning and Resource Centre, which has since grown into a wider learning space with over 5,000 books and learning materials, ICT facilities, teachers’ resources, educational games and other activities that support learning and development.
None of this would have been possible without your support – the centre is now accessed by pupils and teachers in 21 nearby schools as well as students and adults from the wider community. As the only library in Ndhiwa sub-county, it now serves more than 20,000 people. Click below to see a short video tour of the facilities by Zalha at Twende Pamoja.
When schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Twende Pamoja found another way to keep learning moving – the library went to the learners through mobile libraries and school book clubs.
For children working to stay engaged with their education, access to books and a supportive learning environment like this can make a real difference. Today, around 1,200 pupils per year benefit directly from the Reading for Empowerment Programme, which runs the mobile libraries and weekly book clubs in partner schools to build a culture of reading for knowledge, empowerment and pleasure.
Hellen Adhiambo is a student at Pala Secondary School. She first started visiting the Twende Pamoja Community Library because she needed a quiet place to study and access more books to support her schoolwork. What began as a place for studying soon became much more. As Hellen spent more time at the library, she discovered a love for reading. Having access to different books gave her an opportunity to read beyond her school textbooks and explore new ideas.
As Peninah Gesabo, the Librarian at the Learning and Resource Centre, puts it: “The community library has become an important learning space for both learners and community members… there has been a growing interest for learners to use the space for independent study.”
Every book that reaches a learner, every school book club, every child using the Learning and Resource Centre and every teacher drawing on its resources is part of the story your support makes possible.