What we do

Ten libraries. One county. One school at a time.

How a child-led initiative builds school libraries that schools go on to run themselves.

See the schools

Igniting a reading revolution

Children enjoying story time
Children at one of our reading sessions — discovering the joy in every page.

Our Mission

To expand access to books, inspire a love of reading, and build a lasting culture of literacy among children and young people in underserved communities across Kenya.

Our Vision

A future where every child can reach a book, become a reader, and feel brave enough to imagine a life beyond whatever is around them right now. We want Books & Beyond to grow into a movement **led by children, supported by communities and connected through books** — where young people see that something as simple as sharing a book can change things for good.

Who We Are

Every child should have the opportunity to discover the joy, knowledge and possibilities that books can bring.

What Books & Beyond is

Books & Beyond is a child-led initiative that believes every child should have the opportunity to discover the joy, knowledge and possibilities that books can bring.

We bring children and communities together to collect and share books with schools and young readers who have limited access to reading materials.

But Books & Beyond is about more than donating books. It is about children helping children — encouraging a culture of reading, sharing what we have, and showing young people that they can make a real difference to somebody else.

Who leads it

Books & Beyond is child-led.

That means children are not just taking part or receiving something — we are at the heart of it. We champion book drives, encourage others to donate, talk about why reading matters, and take a real part in making things change.

With help from parents, schools, teachers and community partners, we have learnt something worth knowing: you do not have to wait until you are an adult to make a difference.

Children lead. Communities support. Books connect us.

Books & Beyond was started by two sisters. Read their story →

How we get there

Ten libraries, and the way we build them

The mission above says what we are for. This is the working half — the goal we are chasing, the seven things we actually do, and where.

Our immediate goal

To make books easier for children to reach, and to grow a love of reading — while giving young people a real part in changing things where they live.

1

Find

We look for schools in the villages where children have hardly any books to read.

2

Listen & assess

We go there. We talk to the teachers and the learners, and we work out what is actually missing.

3

Tailor

Some schools need books. Some need shelves and chairs. Some need a whole room fixed up. We bring what is missing.

4

Bring people together

We find the people who want to help — families, other children, schools, partners — and bring them together.

5

Build & stock

We fix up the room and fill it with books children actually want to pick up.

6

Activate

We set up the borrowing system and show the teachers how it works, so the library really gets used.

7

Connect

We link the schools and the children to each other through books, so a library becomes a door and not just a room.

Something we learnt

St. Jude already had a room and its own furniture. It needed books, and nothing else. Our model is not about imposing the same package on every school — we assess what is missing and fill the gap.

Where we are

Books & Beyond is based in Kenya. We connect donated books with children, schools and communities where good books are hard to come by.

Through partnerships, book drives and people joining in, we want to take books further than the boundaries that usually stop them.

What happens next

A library is not just shelves

A library succeeds when books are read, shared, discussed and borrowed — not when they are catalogued. These are the habits we build with each school.

Learners reading together around a table in a finished library, shelves full of books behind them
The chalkboard behind them says this is a treasure chest. One of us wrote it.
  • A library lesson on the timetable so it is not just whenever there is time
  • Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) the whole school stops and reads
  • Taking books home the best part, and the scariest to set up
  • Reading clubs for the ones who cannot stop
  • Big kids reading to little kids both of them get something out of it
  • Telling and writing our own stories reading usually turns into writing
  • Book reviews and reading challenges arguing about books counts as reading
  • Learners running the library they look after it better than anyone

Impact & sustainability

Libraries that grow and last

Learners reading together in a finished library, shelves full of books behind them
Learners reading together in a finished library, shelves full of books behind them

We do not just donate books — we help schools build libraries that can grow and last.

Access. Reaching very rural schools where many children have never owned or had access to a storybook.

Lasting infrastructure. Safe, welcoming libraries with durable shelving, furniture and dedicated reading spaces.

Reading culture. Regular access to books beyond classroom textbooks.

Library management. Cataloguing, borrowing systems and teacher peer-training so schools can run and sustain their libraries.

School ownership. Schools grow their own collections through student, parent and alumni book drives.

Barriers to Learning & Opportunity

What stands between a child in Kathonzweni and a book. Five things, and Books & Beyond can change three of them.

Five barriers to learning in Kathonzweni schools: poor infrastructure — cracked floors, leaking roofs and no furniture; dilapidated staff offices; lack of library and learning materials; isolation from broader learning communities; and textbooks-only learning, leaving little room for creativity or problem-solving.

When schools are strong, children thrive and communities grow.

How the circle grew

Where Cities, Villages and Children Meet

A book can travel a long way. And sometimes, it can bring two children together.

  1. 1

    Children helping children

    Our first three projects grew with the help of our friends, families and supporters in Nairobi, including young people from our Premier Academy community.

  2. 2

    Then our circle became bigger

    For our fourth school, the AJB Foundation in the United Kingdom joined the journey, helping us bring books and develop another library in Kathonzweni.

    • Vitale HGM Comprehensive School
  3. 3

    And now, across continents

    Together with A is for Africa in Europe, we are beginning our fifth and sixth school partnerships.

    Happening now

More Than Sharing Books

Our dream is to connect schools in Kathonzweni with schools in Nairobi and overseas — so that children who live thousands of kilometres apart can get to know one another.

Donate a favourite book and write a little note for the child who will read it next.

Exchange letters, stories or artwork.

Read the same book, then share what you thought about it.

Work on a project together — or one day even visit each other's schools.

Keeping children safe

Safeguarding & responsible storytelling

Keeping children safe comes first in everything we do.

We always work through the schools and obtain the required approvals. Parents and guardians give consent for children to take part in photos, videos and interviews. We follow our child safeguarding, data protection and media consent process. Interactions between students are supervised and school-led, and children's personal contact details are never shared privately.

We want children to tell their own stories — safely, positively, and with dignity.