Book donation does volumes for Nairobi children

Sunday 29 January 2017

Embedded in the Nairobi slums, it started with barely a dozen books. But now one Kenyan learning centre can count over 1,000 children’s titles in its library – all thanks to the support of Jersey schoolchildren.

As part of an off-pitch collaboration with charity Jersey 2 Africa 4 Football, Janvrin and Springfield Primary schools pitched in to help create the bountiful children’s book bank at Maendeleo Learning Centre, whilst also contributing to a small community library run by Slums Information Development and Research Education Centre (SIDAREC).

The initiative blows the starting whistle on a longer term partnership between J2A and the schools, who pledged their support in September last year, having been impressed by the charity’s community work.

Springfield Head Teacher, Sam Cooper, said that pupils had, “…jumped at the chance to help out” as, “…both education and football are important parts of very many children’s lives.”

Pictured: Springfield students with their boxes of donated books.

Head of Janvrin, Iain George, added that he hoped the school will, “…build lasting links with the communities in Nairobi through further events and activities.

It’s another credit to add to J2A’s help record for the area, having been involved in the coaching of youngsters in football there since 2012 in a bid to keep them away from the hardships of slum life, whilst also providing them with key life skills.

J2A founder Ricky Weir described the gratitude of the book recipients as, “overwhelming,” adding that he hopes this, “…opens the doors for a wider, stronger and deeper engagement between these Jersey schools and the Kenyan slum community in which we work.”

Pictured: A little boy engrossed in his new picture book.

Lucy Mathai, Founder of SIDAREC, extended thanks on behalf of the organisation, stating that the book donation, "...will go a long way  in improving education for children in these disadvantaged slum environments specifically by improving their reading skills and overall knowledge and literacy."

Maendeleo resident Judy Cakindrah also expressed her gratitude: “I am taking this golden chance to really thank you. We Maendeleo students have really appreciated for bringing the storybooks. Our teachers are really impressed with our language because the storybooks have really helped us.”