The Last dash!

Chairs arrive today, electrician finishes up today, carpet goes down today, we move tables, shelves and books in tomorrow... et voila! A library!! No bag or shoe racks. staff desk, computer table, magazine shelves, catalogue drawers or shelf dividers tho.. they still being made. Phew!

All things considered we did well, even tho we cant open this weekend as we had hoped due to waiting for last pieces of furniture. Maybe next week....

Should be a good day on Saturday anyway, as local community want to thank our donor BookAid International. Dancing and singing anyway!!! Also our new KLT sign will go up outside the door :

For some reason the photo is refusing to go the right way up!!! Sorry!!

Talk after Saturday!

Paint and flowers!

 











Hi again! No little tots in these pics, just Gacharageini Library  update! Landscaping has begun, and painting is just waiting for its last coat- should happen on friday! ALSO funding from Aggreko and Bookaid International has arrived so we can complete the wiring and get the carpet! 

Voting for new constitution in Kenya tomorrow, and day after is a public holiday, so no work.

All shelving completed. Tables and chairs should arrive on friday. Just catalogue drawers, shoe and bags racks and staff desk... plus shelf dividers left!! We are getting there!!

More Little Hands making Big Steps!!

Kawangware library in Nairobi saw its second group of families with under 3 year olds embark on the Little Hands Big Steps journey! The Mums/ aunties were so excited to start- indeed they were all sitting there sharing books before we arrived-, and their children were hooked by the look on their faces!

This time we have explained a little better about how the books are to be used!  We found that last time some busy young mothers/ aunties were leaving their babies alone with the books so they could do their work without carrying the baby on their back.. resulting in damaged books! Yesterday we started by training the grown ups how to turn pages. We have also now asked that the books only be used with a grown up, as this is part of the 'sharing a book' experience. Also that the books be kept somewhere safe and special. Let's hope this will result in fewer damaged books!!

 
                                              I LOVE THIS!!!


Gacharageini library: we are still waiting for paint to dry before we can apply last coat. The trainees even helped with some of the painting! They have completed all books now (YEAY!) and are making a start on sorting out catalogue cards this week! We have also had to find a new fundi (carpenter)- twice!- to make the rest of the furniture. This has been a challenge!
We hope money for wiring and carpet will be available this coming week..

Sipili Library... Well, Joseph will move in to new building this week, even though the solar power is still not installed. We will then start Little Hands making Big Steps in September in Sipili.
We have also submitted our proposal to Coca Cola Africa about our tree nursery and water trough idea based in Sipili community Library compound.. waiting for their response! 

Oh Yes! We now have some great new signs to go beside the entrance door of each KLT library! Kawangware were given theirs yesterday. The signs are 9 inches square and made of metal, and painted with our bibliosaur logo.. will post a photo of one next time!

That's it!!! Talk soon!

Anne

Things are moving again...

Little Hands Big Steps babies graduated yesterday! They each received a certificate, a super T  shirt, and 2 books! I now have the old bags to wash, repairs to make to the books, and replacements to find if repair not possible! THEN we can start LHBS round two at Kawangware!!

Kawangware also received 5 new shelves courtesy of a donation from the Altmann family; for Mum and Dad combined birthdays! We have been able to give some new stock to fill the new shelves' Kawangware will now have a Young Adults collection for the first time, also new picture books, first readers and more Adults fiction MANY thanks Altmann family!!! Will be sending you photos when the books go onto the shelves!

Sipili Library meanwhile is sooo nearly ready! Painting is done inside (sorry! photo didnt work!), water tank and gutters are in now for rain harvesting, just waiting for our solar power.. Joseph is champing at the bit wanting to move shelves and books down to new building... SOON!!! We are also working on a water project with Coca Cola Africa to help the environment here, and to help the local girls.

Gacharageini. Well, we start painting on monday... at last! There will be two walls we cannot paint right now as the plaster is not dry, but we will paint all the rest. We hope to receive our extra funding via BookAid International to put electrical wiring in, and our super carpet! Still hope to open 14th August!! 














I think I should explain about the photos of the building! The top half of the building is owned by the local Catholic church: it is their church hall, and they never finished building it. The bottom half (BEAUTIFULLY built by our builder Zack!) is the library! The photo below is the back of the building, and the photo to the left shows the corner to the front.

 

That is it for this week!!! I am doing storytelling training with the trainees at Gacharageini on Monday, then helping with painting as of Wednesday. Patrick is as always pushing builders, helping motivate and rushing around finding materials!


Talk next week!!






Anne

 

Watching plaster dry so we can watch paint dry afterwards!

Very quiet at the minute! At Gacharageini the trainees are still making their way through the adults non fiction, and discovering the delights (yawn!) of classification! The building is plastered, and we are waiting for it to dry before we can paint... with the weather being so wet (either rain or solid mist) this is getting to be a worry... lastest estimate is 4 months!!!! We need to apply some HEAT...



Sipili: well gutters went on on Thursday, and painting is under way. Just solar power to install.. New library sign is organised too.

Little Hands Big Steps: Kawangware children 'graduate' on saturday next week! So will have photos for you then!

Talk next week!

Anne

Imagine this painted white with a blue carpet....

    Gacharageini library floor... as smoothe as a baby's bottom! Wonderful straight pillars too!!! painting is next (white), then a blue - or possibly green?- carpet, then move shelving in!

We have a donation now of FOUR desktop computers from the Phillips family. Two of these will go in to Gacharageini library, to support the computer programme we will be given by Biovision. This deals with agriculture and environment. The other two will probably go to Sipili library with the same computer programme, as well as for use by the public.

We had a visitor from the UK over the weekend from Holy Trinity and St Peters church in UK, who donated us funding for Little Hands Big Steps. Liz Holder met the LHBS mum's at Kawangware library They filled all the floor space in the library looking at and sharing books. Jon Hargreaves and his daughter Bella also came along.


AFK books have arrived, and we go to collect them tomorrow from Nairobi. 29 boxes of books and cassettes. GREAT!


Talk soon!!!




Anne and Patrick

Gacharageini no longer floor-less!!!! (sorry!)

Gacharageini library now has a floor! it is still not quite finished, but will be this week! Plastering of walls- and those wonderful pillars!- starts this week with second consignment of Bookaid donation!

Trainees have completed all kids stock as of Yesterday (friday) and will start adults stock on Monday!

Talk soon!!!

Anne