Kathonzweni HGM Primary School

Primary School Makueni County, Kathonzweni Completed
Project Progress 100%

A Rural School. A Renovated Library. A Generation Unlocked.

What started as a question — why should access to books depend on where you were born? — became a library. Shelves stocked. Walls painted. Furniture in place. Children reading at break time for the first time in the school's history. This is what child-led change looks like. And it is just the beginning.

Our children have always had the hunger to learn. What they lacked was a space that said: your curiosity is welcome here. This library is that space. Books & Beyond did not just donate books — they gave our school its identity back.

— Ms. Rosina, Head Teacher

The project

This library is open

A Rural School. A Renovated Library. A Generation Unlocked.

What started as a question — why should access to books depend on where you were born? — became a library. Shelves stocked. Walls painted. Furniture in place. Children reading at break time for the first time in the school's history. This is what child-led change looks like. And it is just the beginning.

Our children have always had the hunger to learn. What they lacked was a space that said: your curiosity is welcome here. This library is that space. Books & Beyond did not just donate books — they gave our school its identity back. — Ms. Rosina, Head Teacher

What changed

The Transformation

Drag the handle to see the same room before and after.

Before After Before After

Interior prior to Books And Beyond Interior after to Books And Beyond

While it was being built

Most of this work was done by people who live nearby.

The classroom before renovation
The classroom before renovation
State of classrooms in the school
State of classrooms in the school
Start of renovation
Start of renovation
Remodeling the classroom
Remodeling the classroom
Interior work in progress
Interior work in progress

Where it stands now

The library is open and in use every school day. Learners borrow books, return them, and take turns running the desk. The school runs it now. The register, the shelves, the repairs, the reading timetable — all of it sits with Kathonzweni HGM, which was always the point. Books & Beyond made the room. The school made it a library.

The journey

How this project is going

Every project moves through the same seven steps. Here is where this one has got to.

Step 6/7 · 100%

  1. The school asked

    A school got in touch and told us what they needed. We went to look.

    • A family visit to Kathonzweni HGM It started with a family visit. 350 learners, no library at all. Surina and Keisha asked where a child here goes to read something they chose. Nobody had an answer.

  2. We worked out what was needed

    Every school needs something different. We visit, we count the learners, we look at the room, and we write it all down.

    • A second visit, and a written proposal We went back and looked properly. The room was a classroom: bare walls, no shelves, no reading furniture, no light to sit under. The school had the space, never the means.

  3. Raising the money

    Shelves, paint, a roof that does not leak — none of it is free. This is the part where we ask people to help.

    • Funded entirely by a generous family The generosity of one single family helped us get the project started

  4. Collecting the books

    Books come from families, schools and donors. Every one gets sorted, checked and catalogued before it travels.

    • Books donated, sorted and levelled before shipping Books came from families, schools and donors. We received surprisingly so many books. Surina and Keisha, and the larger Books And Beyond team, painstakingly sorted one after the other.

  5. Building the library

    The room gets repaired, painted and fitted with shelves. Most of the work is done by people who live nearby.

    • Room repaired, painted, floored and shelved The room was repaired, painted, floored and fitted with shelves. Almost all the work was done by people who live in Kathonzweni. Those who built it have children who now use it.

  6. The doors opened

    Books on shelves, a borrowing system that works, and student librarians trained to run it.

    • Official opening, covered in the national press The library opened with the whole school there. Surina and Keisha spoke, and so did the head teacher. The national press carried the story. A rural school was seen, publicly.

  7. Handed over to the school

    Where we are now

    This one is finished.

    • The school now runs the library itsel Books & Beyond does not run this library. Kathonzweni HGM does. The register, the shelves, the repairs are theirs. A library that needs us to keep turning up is not finished.

Impact at a Glance

350
Learners at this school
—
Books here
6/7
Stages completed
Pathways this library supports: 🔬 STEM 🌍 Social Sciences 🎨 Arts & Sports

Kenya's curriculum

CBC at Kathonzweni HGM Primary School

Before the library, a CBC research task at Kathonzweni meant asking children to find something out with nothing to find it in. The curriculum expects inquiry. The school had textbooks and little else.

That has changed. Learners here can now look something up, follow an interest past the end of a lesson, and read about work they have never seen anyone do.

Each of them will choose a senior school pathway — STEM, Social Sciences, or Arts & Sports Science. That choice is still ahead of them. Which is exactly why the reading needs to start now.

How CBC shapes every library we build

Documents & Reports

Library Donation Proposal

Formal proposal detailing library needs, student count, and sustainability plan.

Download Proposal (PDF)

Support Our Work

Every book donated, every hour volunteered, and every shilling raised helps us build the next library. Join the movement.

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