VISITING MY KENYA N KLT!

Well, after 8 weeks in Scotland applying for temporary jobs, Christmas jobs, library assistant one night a week jobs, I have landed a job for 4 days which gets me home to Kenya!

I will be back on 9th November to visit all libraries and friends, then have work with BOOKAID INTERNATIONAL for four days, showing them the KLT libraries, taking a prospective donor to Muranga proposed centre, and helping to write a proposal!

CANT WAIT!

ALSO Sara Peterson in USA has re designed our KLT leaflet, and is raisingmoney to get some printed!! YEAY!! GO Sara!! She is also doing the sub titling of the dramas and raps performed by the kids in our libraries.

THERE ARE SOME GREAT PEOPLE OUT THERE who believe in us!

Marline Peterson her Mum is also trying to raise money for us, through putting articles in Libraries of Hope Magazine.

Patricia Little, a member of AFK who came to see Mathare North MYSA centre in August has also sent us some fuel money, also Donna Kranik donated some fuel money, so Patrick was able to collect books, visit libraries, sort books at Sara Lee etc. MANY THANKS!!! Every little helps!

Rosslyn Academy have again donated some books.

We are mid doing the paperwork for Coca Cola Africa too.. all fingers and toes crossed for 3 years of funding...! Many thanks to Susan Githuku for her help with Coke.

Githurai opened with no books, but Joshe tells me he has started training staff there.

Autumn here has been so beautiful! Now the wind is taking the brightly coloured leaves off the trees and blowing them into heaps.. which I am delighting in jumping in!!! My first autumn for 16 years...



Some sad sad sad news. Our Trustee and very dear friend Jill Simpson passed away on Wednesday last week, of a sudden and completely unexpected heart attack. We are devastated by her passing, but will keep in touch with Angus her husband.
Jill contributed in so many ways to KLT, particularly in her local knowledge and her enthusiasm and belief in what we are trying to accomplish with KLT libraries.


Patrick has been holding the fort, holding down his night job, and keeping KLT operational.. he is amazing! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

KLT - well, Patrick!- also moved Little Hands Big Steps to Sipili library a few weeks ago! We hope this will work as well as it did in Mathare North! We also hope to get a report about their Super Angels girls group very soon... even get some photos!
Safaricom Foundation, not only have donated us a Toyota Hilux, but they are also funding the building of a new building for our Sipili library so we can move out of the two classrooms at Lariak Primary school! Patrick has been gathering up all the required documents they have asked for, and we may be under way in the New Year!

We should also mention the mechanic who has been helping us with repairs to the Safaricom vehicle for free. Such help from local businesses is rare and greatly appreciated. A BIG thank you form ALL KLT staff!

Think that is it! Wil write more after my trip to my Kenya and the libraries!

Is now dark here by 5pm.. the clocks went back on Saturday night... such short days...

It's gettin chilly.. Needing miracles

Well, Anne still in Scotland, and Patrick holding the fort in Kenya!

Anne has written several proposals- formal and informal in style!- but no replies as yet! Sir Richard Branson has been approached too.

Hoping to give some talks to Lions clubs, Rotary Clubs, and Girl Guide groups, but no replies from them either.

Still hunting for a printer to produce our KLT leaflet, which has been re designed by Sara Peterson in USA!... best price so far is £90 for 250 leaflets... £90 too much!

Patrick has been sorting vehicle repairs, and getting the sticker for the hilux... NOT an easy task!

Pat has also been stamping and packing children's stock for Gacharageini Village, Njumbi Location, Mathioya Division in Muranga library, and talking to several new groups who are wanting libraries.

We are also talking to Rafiki Trust in Kisumu area re creating several libraries with them in the Kisumu area.

Anne's work permit is renewed! Yeay!

Githurai MYSA library was formally opened in September with their Dutch donor. The library still has no shelving or stock or staff, but these will come... Anne has to return to train staff and organise stock here!

We are also awaiting the arrival of a large donation of bookstock from BookAid International for all existing libraries.

We are also hoping for a positive response from Bookaid re a donor to build the rest of the library in Gacharageini Village, Njumbi Location, Mathioya Division in Muranga- another project that Anne has to be back to complete! VERY FRUSTRATING!!!

Praying for miracles now...

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)!!!

Bibliosaur Newsletter on the Blog!

· Car issues: Have no car as she is sold. So limited currently to what is possible! Safaricom have promised our vehicle on the first week of August, so here’s hoping!

· Proposals have been sent to Oprah and to Coca Cola Africa..

· Funding expires end of August now...

· STILL looking for a donor to produce our KLT leaflet... and to print the booklists!

· Jane Ainslie from UK visited Mathare North and Kawangware libraries on 25^th July, with her 9 year old daughter Kate! Jane is very interested in setting KLT up as a charity, and coordinating fund raising etc when she returns to the UK! THANK YOU!!! This means we will at last be able to apply to Comic Relief for funding, and for other donor organisations also require UK charity status. Jane also brought toys, pens, paper, and a wonderful pack of posters and games for each centre.

· Sara Lee Ltd has donated boxes of sanitary towels for our Mathare North centre Super Angels girls group, and for Sipili centre.

· Really desperately wanting funding to start our girls group in Sipili.... about 70 girls are waiting for their club to start! We need about KSH5000/- (about £45) per month (this is transport and lunch costs for our speakers).

· The consignment of books organised from the UK by Pauline Cunningham arrived in the KidsLibs office safely!! Sorting them as and when we can get to the office! THANK YOU SO MUCH PAULINE!!

· Requesting for donations of class sets of children’s novels (about 20 copies of each title) for our book-clubs, which will resume in September with the new school year at the international schools. We are trying to find books based loosely on a theme of tolerance and reconciliation, for children aged about 10 -12 years. We have already used S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, Beverley Naidoo’s Burn My Heart, Jeanne DePrau’s City of Ember, Heaven’s Shop by..., Hoot by.... and Shabanu by... Would LOVE a set of Michelle Paver’s Wolf Brother for example..

· Possible new centre in Murang’a area.

The adults books for Murang’a were delivered to the site! BookAid International are trying to find a donor for us to finish building this wonderful new library.

· BookAid are also sending us new stock for each of our centres

· AFK are due to visit KLT in August. They have sent on a donation of stock, which has arrived in Nairobi! We are organising how to get it to KLT office... no vehicle!!!

· Sipili we are still trying to find a donor to build us a new building including fencing, a toilet block, a security guard house and solar power. Looks like the security issues are being sorted out, as many arrests have been made. Joseph, who runs the library there, has organised his library group to making a drama about how the post election violence affected the children in his area. He wants to make a DVD of this. We are trying to find him funding for costumes etc.

· Anne is doing some training on holiday activities with all staff members at our July meeting next week. Anne is also mentioning Dyslexia, which no one is Kenya out of the international schools has heard of.

· STILL NEED NEW TRUSTEES and chair, as Smita is no longer available...ALSO a new treasurer, both willing to be signatories on the KLT account.. SUGGESTIONS PLEASE?? We also need these Trustees to be ACTIVE, helping write proposals, finding contacts, etc

TALK AGAIN NEXT MONTH!

DONT FORGET TO KEEP WATCHING OUR WEBSITE!!!

kidslibstrust.org

Orange is KLT projects

Green is existing KLT centres

Purple is proposed new centres

Blue is donors

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!!!