Educate and Empower Street Children in Kenya

The community library at Rathithi Polytechnic is now fully operational and open to the community. The service was formally launched in a colorful event on 18 February, which was attended by members of the local community, children from neighboring schools and a delegation from the Rotary Club of Karatina.

The grand opening event involved a read-aloud session with children, board games, drawing and painting, and the highlight of the day -- a spelling bee. Beyond the fun activities however, the event was aimed at broadening and deepening the polytechnic’s ties with the surrounding community, to create a richer platform for its function as a key community resource.

While provision of vocational skills training is the polytechnic’s core function, the wider aim of such training is to leverage learning for community development broadly conceived. The library service will support this wider aim by encouraging a reading culture among young people. Helping children to enjoy reading and to read widely will also improve the quality of polytechnic students in the long run.

The launch event was made possible and enriched by the support of the Rathithi community leaders’ committee, which mobilized the community for the event; local primary and secondary schools, which prepared children for the spelling bee; the Rotary Club of Karatina, which provided books and has pledged its support going forward, and the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) network, which donated books.

Together, we are creating opportunities for all our youngsters!