Photos have been removed from this issue because of a law in Kenya requiring strict documentation for photos and videos featuring school children.
Greetings! Here is the January 2022 issue of the Libraries For Kids, Int'l monthly e-newsletter. From all of us, we wish you a very happy new year. Thanks for your interest and support. QUOTE OF THE MONTH I believe I can
The Smile That Launched Libraries For Kids, Int'l When I visited Amboseli Primary School in rural Kenya in September 2018 someone in the tour group asked the teacher, Anna Tayiai if they had a library? Her face lit up and she smiled and said "No, but we'd love to have a library." I couldn't stop thinking about her remark. I thought, how hard can this be. We just get some books donated and ship them to Kenya. So in many ways Anna is our Founder. Last September I visited 9 schools, one of which is Isnet Primary School where Anna now teaches. I'm aware of some of her trials and tribulations so her beautiful smile and positive attitude are not only infectious but also inspirational. She is an amazing lady and totally devoted to teaching.
SHORT TERM GOAL: 1.5 MILLION CHILDREN 6 Containers have been delivered to schools. Containers 7 & 8 were shipped December 16, 2021, and are scheduled to arrive at the end of January 2022. Containers 9 & 10 are due to ship around the end of March. When these 10 containers are all delivered they will create libraries in with approximately 2,500 schools impacting approximately 500,000 children. But, there are over 6,700 rural schools in Kenya, approximately 1.5 million students. We need to fund another 20 containers. Due to higher costs and Kenyan customs duties (we keep applying to get those duties waived) it now costs $19,000 to ship a container and another $6,000 to process, stamp, sort, and distribute the books after they arrive at our warehouse in Kitui Kenya. So, roughly $25,000 to ship a container holding 40,000 to 50,000 books. Each container supplies 250 to 300 schools. Kenya is a large country about 85% the size of Texas. As we supply schools in the more remote counties the costs go up.
