Tis a Braw bricht nicht the nicht...

Well am in Scotland, n am tryin to get back to Kenya!

Working with Jane Ainslie to make KLT UK branch! Also with Susan who is working to get an annual budget (required for all proposals and to become a UK charity) from our accountant Neil.

I am also trying to find a printer in Edinburgh to print our KLT leaflet for free... this is a real challenge!!

Little Hands, Big Steps closed at Mathare North! THe children will receive a goodie bag (of books!) and a certificate this Saturday. LHBS will move to Sipili Library! Let's see if it will be as successful there! When we get funding we hope to create some new sets of books and introduce in all centres, rotating families rather than the books!!

Just a wee update today!!!

Talk soon!

The Time has come.. I WILL BE BACK!!!

The Time has come (the walrus said).

Going to UK (Edinburgh) to find donor/s to continue working and making libraries here in Kenya. Leaving on 27th. Will be back asap! Patrick in charge while I am away with the help of Trusty Trustee Susan!!

I WILL BE BACK (Arnie S. said)!!!

one wheel on my wagon, n I'm still rollin along....

Well RAV has gone! SOO sad! Now have no car as am living off the car money until end of August. STILL waiting for Safaricom to give us the long promised pick up.. starting to doubt its existance!

Cant get to libraries now other than by taxi, matatu or hire a car.

Consignment of books arrived from UK courtesy of Pauline Cunningham and Tony Kennedy! They arrived on Monday, and we will start to unpack tomorrow! It is like Christmas!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Cant get books like these in Kenya!!

Anne also working on renewal of her work permit..see?! Still living in hope!! Have a meeting with KNLS tomorrow re this.

Joseph in Sipili, Laikipia West has been prepairing a drama dealing with the post election violence (which is still going on there) with the library clubs. They want us to make a DVD of this. So we are trying to find funding for costumes, make up etc.

The website has been updated in part, and each centre page now has a photo of their staff on their home page!!

BookAid International is trying to find funding for us to make the centre in Murang'a! Stock has been boxed and sent up to Murang'a this week.We have also filled in the copious number of forms per KLT centre to apply for stock donations for each KLT centre from BookAid.

MYSA is trying hard now to get Maili Saba open before the end of July. Let's hope they succeed!

Proposals have been sent to Coca Cola Africa and to Oprah... Someone has to feel we are worth it and support us!! Ever hopeful!!

Talk again soon!!!

Little Hands really ARE Making Big Steps!!

Well LHBS has been running for three weeks now! The comments from the logbooks are great - we now know that:

• Schofield (age 13 months) likes books about animals and likes to make the noises!!!!
• All the kids love anything with animals
• All kids like colourful books
• All kids hated 'Moja means one' even tho it is in Swahili!
• Kids love to trun the pages
• Parents and other family members also reading the books!
• Most are managing to read even for ashort while daily. Some only a few times a week, one 20 minutes twice a day!

Parents were told that reading didnt matter at this stage, Using language and enjoying the books was the most important.. and this seems to be working!
I will go to talk to the parnts this weekend to see how they are doing too! Trying to convince fathers that they can do this too.

I love my work!!!

Little Hands Big Steps was launched yesterday!!

At last Little Hands Big Steps is running!


We launched yesterday at Mathare North MYSA library with four Mums and one Dad!! Our youngest is 3 months, and out oldest 4 years!! We started by giving the books to each chil- one immediately stopped crying! The four year old had been running around, and he sat SOO well on his Mums knee!


I explained how the book bags are exchanged every week for a period of 10 weeks. Also about the little logbook inside each bag, which they must complete every week (this says how often they used the books, if any other family member helped, if the children liked or disliked the books, etc). Steve explained how there will be a certificate at the end of the 10 weeks, and that each child will be given some books to keep at home after the programme.



If this works we will introduce LHBS to other centres and start a trend of reading in Kenya with under 5 year olds!!!



Many thanks to AFK and Norwich Rotary club in the USA for their donation of funds to purchase some of the books for this... cant do it without you guys!!!

May activity!!

Nothing much has happened this month, but every step - even a shuffle!- in the right direction is good news!

e proposals have been sent. However, we now have a young lady who is visiting in Gilgil who is a professional proposal writer- Lorna. Lorna is working on a proposal for us, and also some letters of enquiry: Proposals will go to Richard Branson, and ‘letters of enquiry’ to Oprah and to Global Fund for Children (letters of enquiry are sent, then, if there is interest we will be requested to make a full proposal.

· Funding expires end of July...

· Kawangware paperwork is completed and signed! New staff have been interviewed, and Lucy started working there last week! Maurice is still there from the original staff as a paid volunteer. The library has been PACKED over April- May, due to school holidays. DEC (who run the library) moved tables outside the building so all people wanting to use the library could be accommodated!

Henry from Kawangware centre receiving his certificate.

· Booklists. Anne has created a ‘Fantasy Booklist’; a list of recommended fantasy themed books for older children... these have a small review. We hope to get children and staff from each of our centres to create their own themed lists! We would like to get this list – and others to follow- printed and available for our library users.

· STILL looking for a donor to produce our KLT leaflet...

· Safaricom Foundation has given us a letter to say that they intend to give us a pick up truck! Anne is now working on the required paperwork, which will go to Safaricom this week! We may yet have our vehicle before the end of May... watch this space!!!

· We have started a girlchild club at Mathare North. Ann Chege talked to a group of 20 girls (aged 10 – 22) about hygiene. Ann has also talked to the girls about early marriages. The girls have called themselves Mathare Super Angels!

We are keen to start our club in Sipili in Laikipia West. A lady Kenyan

psychologist is keen to help us with this group, but we are having trouble finding a convenient Saturday! We still have no funding for transport, food, etc, but hope to combine the first visit with our monthly visit to the library.

· Duty exemption from KRA.. the is still being organised. Not hopeful though.

· STILL trying to find someone to set us up as a charity in the UK.. This is rather urgent as we want to apply to Comic Relief for funding, and have to be a registered charity in the UK before we can apply. We even have a letter of support form DFAID waiting to attach to our application!

· A consignment of books is being organised from the UK by Pauline Cunningham. These have left the UK and are on their way to Kenya!

· Maili Saba is still not open. Waiting for rest of furniture, catalogue drawers and carpet, which is dependent on funding from MYSA. Very discouraging for both staff and the local community, whose enthusiasm has been sadly dampened.

Douglas from Maili Saba receiving his certificate

· Little Hands, Big Steps, our family reading project is starting at Mathare North in June! This is a trial project! If it works we will introduce to our other centres. 5 families/ carers of under 5 year olds have been chosen by MN staff. They will each receive a bag of 5 books every week, returning their bag weekly to receive a new one, for a 10 week period, with instructions on how to use them with their youngest children. Introducing books at this age is not only a great boost to their later education, but is a joy and a means to increase parent/ child bonding.AFK in the USA have helped with this project, supplying book-bags, and facilitating a donation form Norwich Rotary club in the USA with which we have purchased some of the Africa themed books included in our book-bags

Steve reading with his son Schofield

· Staff at all centres received their basic library training certificates at the April libraries meeting! Storytelling course certificates will follow!

· Possible new centre in Marang’a area.

Anne and Patrick have had meetings with several organisations re making further centres. The most positive one is in Marang’a area up country. This is with our great friend and colleague Zack Gichane, who is responsible for our liaison with Sara Lee Kenya (they give us free office space, as well as supporting Mathare North library financially). We visited the area (predominantly tea growing), and spoke to some community members. There is in existing building- see previous blog!

· We plan to computerise Maile Saba and Kawangware centres, using Bookmark, which was donated to KLT some years ago by the Australian High Commission. This will give a computerised catalogue (accessible by staff and children) and a computerised issue system.

· Kids in Mathare North have been writing stories and accounts of how the post election violence affected them. The best of these will be sent to Beverley Naidoo (our patron, and famous children’s author) who wants to read them.

· We got the new camcorder in March- and are now in receipt of a digital camera, donated by Carol Craven from Martha’s Vineyard in the USA! Susan Phillips visited the USA recently and brought the camera back with her. This will be so useful for good quality photos for the website.

· Anne gave a talk to 11 year olds at Rosslyn Academy. As a result we now have a power-point presentation suitable to show children! It was very interesting to see what these – mainly- ex patriate children knew about the lot of children of their own age in Kenya. The children also donated seven boxes of books!!

· Githurai we are told is still coming on, waiting for its next batch of funding. Anne and Patrick had a meeting with the Dutch donor (money given to MYSA). Not hopeful.

· Kasarani is still putting out proposals for funding of their proposed centre.

· Ngong Town is also still trying to find funding for their children’s library. The largest part of the costings here is for their sustainability scheme.. they want to raise chickens

· Sipili we are still trying to find a donor to build us a new building, as Lariak Primary school has asked us to move out as they have decided that they need the two classrooms we are currently using. We have the land donated, and are looking for approximately 1.6 million Kenyan shillings to build a building exactly the same size as the one we are leaving. The money includes fencing, a toilet block, a security guard house and solar power. We are also looking for a sustainability plan here... we still think the purchase of a tractor and plough would be appropriate here, as we can hire it out and use the profit to sustain the library, staff etc.

· Susan had managed to find someone to publish the wonderful ‘Trading Fives’ book she and ISK produced with groups of children from ISK and Mathare North last year. She is hoping to sell them through ISK and raise some money so the Mathare North kids can have a copy of their own each.

· We are also trying to find first aid kits and fire extinguishers for each of the centres. AFK in the USA have promised us First Aid Kits when they come over in August. THANK YOU!!!

· STILL NEED A NEW TRUSTEE and chair, as Smita is no longer available...ALSO a new treasurer, both willing to be signatories on the KLT account.. SUGGESTIONS PLEASE??

SOOO SAD!!!! But staying positive!!!

My poor little RAV 4 has gone up for sale... I feel like I am selling a child! She is gettin old, and in need of much repair- which is expensive. Dont know what I will do without a car.. taxis and matatus I suppose, until Safaricom make good on their offer of a vehicle ... ever trusting!!!


Patrick and I went to see a possible new library in Muranga district. What a beautiful area!! Hills, rivers, and a LOT of tea!! Many schools with no access to resources, information or reading materials. We have been offered space temporarily in the catholic church hall, until money can be raised to complete the huge spave beneath the building to make a wonderful library- with the most amazing, inspiring views!! The temporary space just needs painting and a few walls knocking through, plus furniture (which can be transferred to new library when it is ready).. Watch this (blog) spot!!!

Mathare Angels... and other Angels!
Girls group 'Mathare Angels' is progressing well!! At their last session they discussed early pregnancy, and ways to avoid it.. very interesting as to how they see themselves. Comments on how the media portrays provocotive materials, and how girls dress being two issues. Still desperate to get funding to start this in Sipili.Our lady psychologist Karindi is making space in her diary for a first visit on a saturday in June.. She is SOOO psyched!!!!

Duty exemption... gulp!
Well, accounts went in finally this week. Neil Jones and associates have worked SOOO hard on these, so I hope we are successful!

More proposals sent off.. no replies, so still no funding...

Little Hands, Big Steps.
Researching on research (?!) showing benefits of using books with under5 year olds... including babies. This to back up our Little Hands, Big Steps project. Hope to start our project by the end of May. Quite exciting!!

That's it for today!!! Any ideas welcome!!!