Nancy Kitur, Sub County Coordinator at LifeStraw, shares her experience volunteering at MukavaKava Comprehensive School in western Kenya.
How it all began
The first time I willingly stepped into a library (it was more of a bookstore than a library) was when I was around 10 years old. A lot was happening outside school and I wanted something to help me escape my reality, albeit temporarily. There were a few chairs placed along the aisles, although no one seemed to use them. Mr. Mungai, our school deputy, also happened to be our library teacher. He had very strict rules for anyone visiting the library. The first on his list was the “no noise” policy. His other important rule was, “If found stealing or with a stolen book, you buy four storybooks, different titles.” When I entered, he looked at me suspiciously, maybe because he wasn't used to seeing anyone voluntarily visiting the library. In most cases, it was the upper classes looking for specific textbooks for reference. I ignored his hawk-eyes and proceeded to check different storybooks. My reading wasn't very great then, so I looked for storybooks with lots of illustrations and simple texts. I settled for one about the adventures of a young boy called Kisa and his friend- Monkey. I sat on one of the chairs and started reading the book. Everything came to a standstill at that moment. I forgot about my classes, lunch and anything that was happening outside that book.
Mr. Mungai´s voice brought me back to reality as he announced that he wanted to close the library. I quickly noted down the page I was at, put the book back on the shelves and left. On my way home, all I could think about was Kisa and Monkey. I desperately wanted to know how the book ended. The next day, I went back to the library during my free time to finish the storybook. From then on, I spent every small chance I got in the school library. This is a hobby that transitioned me into adulthood, and since working with LifeStraw means working with children, I always saw my 10-year-old self whenever I visited schools. To honor her, I wanted to help other children around her age enjoy reading, just for fun or as a coping mechanism.
The book reading event
The idea to do a book reading event and donate books to MukavaKava Comprehensive School came one Wednesday afternoon during my routine school visits to check the LifeStraw Community purifiers in the school. It was a hot day, a few minutes to lunch break and I was very hungry. The first thing that caught my attention in the school compound was the beautiful green field, tall trees with a shade that covered the entire field. For a second, I pictured myself lying under that shade, reading one of James Patterson's thrillers. I proceeded to the head teacher's office where we discussed the LifeStraw Program in the school. He then directed me to the LifeStraw teacher who gave me a report about the 5 LifeStraw Community purifiers in the school. We then moved around with her, inspecting and repairing the filters where necessary. After doing refresher training, it was time to leave the school. I said my goodbyes and headed towards the gate. My eyes wandered to the field. Again. Just like that, an idea came to my mind. What if we did a book reading event under those trees? Without thinking, I turned back and went straight to the head teacher's office. This time, with a different goal. I wanted to know everything related to books and the school´s reading culture. From what he said, I gathered that the school had mostly coursebooks and most reading that happened was for educational purposes only. The coursebooks were mostly supplied by the government and most families could not afford three decent meals a day, let alone sparing some cash for luxuries like storybooks for their children. This meant that storybooks were needed for the book reading event to be a success. From there, plans started. I reached out to colleagues and friends to help out with book donations and also with confirming their availability to make the day a success. We managed to get over 500 books, which exceeded my initial target. We had 17 people (volunteers and staff) join us on the day of the event. Our first task was sorting the storybooks for age-appropriateness. To determine this, we used features like fonts, number of pages, illustrations and content of the book. It was no easy task! Once everything was sorted, we assigned each member an age group and then spread the teams in the field, under the shades. It was quite a sight for sore eyes!
In the groups, we picked a story, took turns reading, and discussed the story and its lessons. We made the sessions easy, interactive and relaxed. We finished with games and then moved the books to the school's library with instructions that the children could borrow the books, read and return to exchange with another. We left the school positive that the 'World's Booklovers Association' had signed in new members from Mukava Kava Comprehensive School.
