Help us start a village library in Kenya

Hey, I'm Wanzilu from Nairobi, Kenya. A year ago, my husband and three kids moved to Savannah, GA, where we’ve had the privilege of having a great adventure in getting out of our comfort zones, spending time together and gratitude is a must!

One of our most exciting times while here is our weekly visit to the local library; it's full of joy and the entire world in it. So, when I was thinking about how I wanted to celebrate my upcoming 40th birthday and my daughter's 5th birthday, the dream of sharing fun storybooks with other children in my home village kept haunting me. That, along with childhood memories of my father, memories of my few visits to the library in Upper Hill with my mother, plus missing my home and wanting to feel connected, bore the idea of Dala Library. It's an idea I've had for many years but only found the courage to take it on now with a yes, please, thank you!

Dala means home in the native Dholuo language from Kenya, East Africa and usually refers to one's home in the rural village. It seemed only right to call this dream Dala library as we're setting up our first two village libraries in our family homes - Mua Hills in Machakos county and Ratta in Kisumu county.

Dala Library's mission is to open even more village libraries across Kenya to encourage a reading culture from a young age and support the drive to improve literacy levels. At the core of this mission is the message to all children that reading is fun.

Some children in rural Kenya hardly have the opportunity to indulge in a good and fun storybook that will bring them joy while improving their literacy, communication skills and understanding of their world. Reading for fun has been proven to have critical non-literacy benefits – increasing one’s self-worth and empathy, expanding imagination, building character and improving one’s well-being throughout life.

The joy of reading is what Dala library is all about.

I invite you to share in making this dream a reality and help Dala Library bring the joy of reading to children in a Kenyan village. One book makes all the difference.

Here are a few ways you can help:

1. Donate a book

We are in the process of gathering fun, interesting, and engaging books from around the world that are enjoyable and intellectually beneficial.

We welcome children's storybooks from all over the world while still recognizing that all readers, especially children, deserve to see themselves in the books they read.

Diversity is essential to us, so we are keen on aggregating children's storybooks that shine a light on various cultures.

Please visit our website for more info - www.dalalibrary.org

2. Donate in kind

It takes a village to make the dream work. We welcome you to say yes and volunteer your time if you are willing. Reach out to us via email and visit our website for more info.

3. Donate to the library wallet

Please consider donating towards Dala Library's running costs. Our monthly costs will cover the library rental space, caretaker and librarian salaries, utilities, office stationery, and of utmost importance, the shipping and delivery of the books to the village libraries. No donation is too small, and we appreciate any help you can give.

We urge you to sign up for our email newsletter, where we'll also share periodical financial reports on how the funds collected are used to run the library.

If you aren’t able to donate, please share this dream with everybody who loves children and books :-)

Asante! Thank you!