"My name is Brave Ben. I am in grade 5 and a member of the Simba LitClub at Sofia Primary School. I live with my father, mother and 2 brothers. At home I like to graze cattle and collect firewood. In LitClub I love the read alouds, the brain breaks and how our mentor teaches us. My favorite book is “The Magic School Bus.”  My favorite subject in school is Science."

Launched early in 2020, LitClubs have been our newest iniative to build strong, confident and lifelong readers!  Mentors, trained with LitWorld materials, meet weekly with the students with hands-on engaging activities.  Read Alouds, word games, and creative writing are all part of the program.  Underlying the curriculum are LitWorld's 7 Strengths:  Belonging, Kindness, Curiosity, Friendship, Confidence, Courage and Hope.  Students like Brave Ben are inspired and become curious readers.  

This week Kenya Connect hosted our first LitFests at Sophia and Maanzoni Primary Schools.  Parents and teachers celebrated the LitClub students' accomplishments and cheered when students gave speeches and recited poetry.  Playing word games, using digital readers, and reading together provided parents and students the opportunity to learn together.

One parent commented, "I can't believe how much the students' have grown this year, especially in their sense of confidence!"

We have BIG PLANS to expand LitClubs to 3 more schools in 2021.  Donors like you have made these type of programs possible.  You have also provided resources to purchase books like the Magic School Bus series so budding scientists like Brave Ben have books that expand their horizons.  During the pandemic, our LitClubs and Library Program have been a true learning life-line for students in our rural community.  Our Library Team, masked-up, visited schools bringing books and encouragement to learners missing school.

We are deeply grateful to you for being a Kenya Connect donor and friend.  As the year draws to a close, we wish you and your family a healthy and joyful holiday season and one filled with some good books!

The Kenya Connect LRC Annex drawings are complete and we are counting down the days to our November ground breaking! Since our highly successful July match day, we have revised the original building design to include an "open-air" rooftop terrace that will enable us to hold additional workshops, meetings, and events with a lovely view of Wamunyu!  We have also expanded the space for the library to accommodate our growing book collection, program needs, and places for the students to read and study.

The drawings have been submitted to the county government for permitting, and as soon as the permit is granted, we will begin digging the foundation.  In the meantime, thanks to a grant from PayPal Gives, we are digging a well on the property which will allow for clean water to be used in the buidling and for the use of nearby residents.  With hundreds of students, teachers, and community members visiting each week, having a source of water is essential, especially during periods of drought.  Our staff is also investigating the best means to ensure stable internet access for the LRC Annex and are eagerly planning the interior design of the library.

The LRC Annex is possible because of donors like you who believe in our work to lift a community through the power of education.   We will be sending an updated report in November of the official ground breaking.  As the construction commences, we will be posting on our social media channels: twitter, facebook, and instagram, and we'll send regular reports.  If you haven't followed us on these channels, please do so you can watch the progress of the building as well as learning more about our community led work.

We are still seeking to raise $20K for the project, so if you are so moved, we invite you to make an additional donation on GivingTuesday, December 1.  This year our friends at GlobalGiving have 1 MILLION in incentive giving funds so ALL gifts will receive some type of a match!

Last week, Gloria, one of the students in our LitClub shared what she thought about our literacy programs. "I like LitClub because we read stories like "The Princess and the Pea."  They make me become more creative and then I have stories to share with my younger siblings.  I always check out books from the Kenya Connect library.  My favorite storybook is "The Stepsisters" which teaches about honesty."

Thank you for making our dream become a reality and helping us to build a proper library for Gloria and the 18,000 students in our community.