Every great project has a small
beginning. We seek to start with a pilot project in Nyamira County, Kenya. Our
pilot project will be called Base
ya kuchop. This is a local informal phrase meaning a home of
learning.
We desire to start our pilot
project in this town of Nyamira as we assess the need for these libraries and
aim to attract like-minded individuals along this journey of inspiring a
passion for learning. The library is to have one staff who should have a
passion for learning and who will be in charge of managing the library. We have
identified several locations for rent, one of which stands out since it is in a
pristine location.
Nyamira is one of the 47 Counties
in Kenya. It is is located in the hilly and rainy western part of Kenya. It has
around half a million inhabitants in an area of 899.3 kilometres squared. Half
the population are youth of ages
15 to 35 years. According to the
2009 census reports there are 145,012 students enrolled in 567 Primary schools and 37,070 students
enrolled in 168 secondary schools.
In addition the county has 3 University Colleges, 1 Medical
Training College, 1 Teachers Training College, 36 Youth Polytechnics, and
several Commercial Colleges. Several institutions of higher learning have set
up branches in this town meaning there are more college and university going
students. Sadly though, the entire county does not have even a single public
library. It is notable that most of the schools in Nyamira do not have a
library and that the entire county of half a million inhabitants does not have
a library. And this is where you and I come in...
