Back in October of Last year, I was very fortunate to be invited to join three other ladies to take part in a safari to Kenya. Towards the end of the holiday, and after the safari part was over, we recovered in The Turtle Bay Beach Resort, Watamu, northeast of Mombasa.
Before my departure from the UK, I managed to get in contact with a local businessman, Daniel Mwari, from the Rotaract Club (Rotary Club Partner) who had been making use of the plastic rubbish which litters Kenya, making it into recycled shelving.
Daniel very kindly set aside some of his free time to take us to a local Community School in Watamu town, in the Kilfi Provence, where the poorest of the area go.
Kenya has come a long way over a short time. They now provide a National Health Service (although still in its infancy) and an Education system. It is now a legal requirement for all children to go to school, although not all parents can afford to send their children there.
Not that long ago, in 2009, it was reported that this region had a 30% level of child slavery, and was said to start at the age of nine, mainly girls. The region was also said to have 38% of the adult population illiterate.
The school Daniel took us to was Watamu Community Primary School, which ranges from Kindergarten children through to fourteen-year-olds, with 980 students in total.
The children would walk miles and sometimes for hours, just for the opportunity to go to school – and then walking home. Every child I saw was so happy to be there. They wanted to embrace the chance of a better future through the education that their mothers, fathers and forefathers had not had.
Some children could not afford second or third-hand uniforms, and turned up in no less than rags. Some had to work from the floor, as there were not enough benches for all. The pencils they worked with were no more than an inch in length, but I heard no one complaining.
Everyone was so welcoming and happy to see us. All their smiles did my heart good. For those who had so little, they were filled with total optimism.
Just imagine how my heart sank when I saw what they proudly called their library. Two tables stretching perhaps ten feet in length, with the most pitiful amount of books scattered on the top. To me, for the size of the school, this was heart-sinking.
There were very few storybooks to grab the imagination and not many reference books to spark interest. The most I saw on one topic was a group of American Webster’s Dictionaries, which looked as though they were from the sixties.
Once I returned home, I started a campaign with the help of Somer Valley Rotary to collect books from local schools that would have ended up in landfill sites, with the aim of sending them to these children.
With a team of Scribers of family and friends, we have catalogued over six thousand books, parcelled them up and compiled them into two pallets – weighing nearly two tons – which, at present, are waiting for collection from Parkers Transport warehouse in Westfield, to start their 39-day journey via ship to Mombasa.
These will then be collected by Daniel Mwari and his Rotaract Club and taken up to Watamu Community School. I can just imagine what a welcome they will receive from the children there.
I would dearly like to thank all those who have helped make this wish come true, and spread the smiles over thousands of miles.
Jackie Partridge
Editor’s update: The books are currently being held up due to the cost of Kenyan Import tax. If anyone can help, or has experience of sending items to Africa, please do get in touch.