Library Progress: Intern Post by Marilyn Lewis

Bumping along in our van through the African bush on the supposed ‘short cut’ between schools, there were so many things to catch the eye. The brightly dressed women gracefully balancing a variety of things on their heads while walking along the red dirt road. Mud huts that are actually small ‘stores’ where enterprising women sell the extra produce from their gardens. And Sisal hemp plantations.But what caught my eye was a group of children by the side of the road. One little girl stood alone, reading a book! Because of her uniform I knew she was from Taru Primary School.

When I visited this school two years ago, the books that had been donated by Kenya Keys were still in a box in a storage room. During the last two years the books in that box have become a lending library and it’s being well used. The ‘library’ is still in a storage room and bears little resemblance to what we would normally picture as a school library.

Yet this small bookshelf in a Primary school in rural Kenya is opening the door to learning for many children!

In the words of former First Lady Laura Bush, “Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open.

Kenya Keys has started libraries in eight primary schools, two secondary schools, as well as a community library. The extra suitcase of each intern arrives in Kenya filled with books people have donated. Each of these is a treasure that touches countless children.

Isaac Asimov explains the value of a library well:

“Congratulations on the new library, because it isn't just a library. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of the Universe, a time machine that will take you to the far past and the far future, a teacher that knows more than any human being, a friend that will amuse you and console you -- and most of all, a gateway, to a better and happier and more useful life.

The libraries begun by Kenya Keys are definitely part of that gateway!