Active
Every one of these had children in it who were waiting to read.
Books & Beyond aims to support 10 schools in Kathonzweni, Makueni County, working collaboratively with schools, communities, partners and donors to create sustainable library and reading spaces.
If your school needs a library or support to strengthen its reading resources, we would love to hear from you. Tell us about your school, your learners and what you hope to achieve.
Every application is personally reviewed by Surina and Keisha as they explore where Books & Beyond and its partners can make a meaningful difference.
Apply to JoinBooks & Beyond started with a simple observation: children in rural Kenya don't have books, and children in urban Kenya sometimes have too many. In solving that, it turns out we're solving something much larger.
CBE asks every learner to become self-directed. That starts with reading for pleasure. A stocked library open at break time tells every child that reading is something you choose — not just something you're tested on.
CBE's School-Based Assessments require learners to find information, evaluate sources, and build arguments. Without reference books, that's impossible for rural learners. Our libraries make SBAs doable.
Fiction builds empathy, vocabulary, and imagination — competencies no whiteboard can teach. Every book on a shelf gives creativity permission to exist.
Urban children run book drives. Rural children use them. City interns visit village schools. That exchange — often the first of its kind for these children — builds the citizenship and collaboration CBE demands.
Every CBE learner must choose between STEM, Social Sciences, or Arts & Sports Science. That choice requires self-knowledge and exposure to what lies beyond the village. A library is where that discovery happens. Without one, the pathway is chosen by default — not by the child.
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Humanities, Languages & Business Studies
Performing Arts, Visual Arts & Sports Science
"Every book we place in this library is a door that opens onto one of these pathways. Rural children don't lack ambition — they lack access."