Build Classroom Libraries at Cheleta School

Hi friends, we've been living in Nairobi, Kenya now for 2.5 years and are fortunate to have had a fantastic experience so far as a family. As we have been keen to get to know our neighbors in our community, one set of neighbors we have been building relationships with is our neighborhood public primary school, Cheleta School.

Cheleta is a public primary school located in a very well-to-do neighborhood yet its student populations draw from two nearby underserved communities, Githogoro and Mji Wa Huruma. Despite its location the school receives minimal resources to meet its needs. The school was built to host 350 students but today it has almost 900 students in attendance. It goes without saying that the facilities are quite stretched in their ability to serve the student population. The parent community also has very little in terms of resources to support the school and while those of us invested in the school work to encourage a response from the government, the burden has really fallen on the teachers in the school to be in charge of the academic, social and spiritual wellbeing of learners.

The school has a dynamic and visionary head teacher and staff who are working to create a rich enabling environment that is safe, welcoming, and inspires students to learn and access a quality education. I hoping with this appeal, you might be able to help me support their efforts.

Our asks: While there is a lot of work to be done, we are hoping to address the school's needs bit by bit starting with classroom libraries. As there is not a central library due to lack of space, we are hoping to create a small classroom library in each of the 17 classrooms by providing funds to build book cases, some places for students to sit, and some books to read.

The funds we raise will be used to hire people from the community to build secure bookshelves, obtain age-appropriate books, and create some fun spaces for kids to relax and read. It may be hard to imagine a school without this which is why we are asking for your help: schools should be able to provide this for their learners.

Happy holidays,

Bilali Faton