Makutano Primary & Junior School

Primary School Makueni County, Kathonzweni Fundraising
Project Progress 40%

A classroom being freed up

Makutano Primary & Junior School has grown from 221 learners to 453 in five years. Its book collection has not kept up: around 50 donated storybooks, most of them suited to Grades 1 to 3, for a school that teaches to Grade 9.

Books & Beyond and A is for Africa want to turn it into a library.

The project

What we are building here

A classroom being freed up

Makutano Primary & Junior School has grown from 221 learners to 453 in five years. Its book collection has not kept up: around 50 donated storybooks, most of them suited to Grades 1 to 3, for a school that teaches to Grade 9.

Books & Beyond and A is for Africa want to turn it into a library.

What changed

The Transformation

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

Before Original classroom look
Original classroom look
After
The after photo is not up yet
It goes here as soon as we have it.

Where it stands now

There is no library yet. The room earmarked for it is still in use as a classroom, and will only be released once the government finishes two new ECD classrooms on the site — expected around October 2026. It was a computer room before. Roughly 30 by 25 feet, which is enough for 48 children at a time once it has a floor, a ceiling, lighting and shelves. At the moment it has none of those.

The journey

How this project is going

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

Step 2/7 · 40%

  1. The school asked

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

  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.

  3. Raising the money

    Where we are now

    We are still raising what this library needs. This is the stage where help makes the most difference.

    This is the stage where help changes the timeline.

    Help build this library Partner with us

  4. Collecting the books

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

  5. Building the library

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

  6. The doors opened

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

  7. Handed over to the school

    The library belongs to the school now. We still visit, and we still count what is being read.

Impact at a Glance

453
Learners at this school
—
Books here
2/7
Stages completed
Pathways this library supports: 🔬 STEM 🌍 Social Sciences 🎨 Arts & Sports

Kenya's curriculum

CBC at Makutano Primary & Junior School

Makutano teaches from PP1 to Grade 9, which means its oldest learners are in the year every Kenyan child chooses a senior school pathway — STEM, Social Sciences, or Arts & Sports Science.

They are making that choice with almost nothing to research it from. The school has around 50 storybooks, most of them written for Grades 1 to 3, and 52 government digital devices of which about 25 still work and must be shared between 453 children.

A library is what makes CBC's demands answerable here. Not a supplement to the technology — the foundation under it.

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)

Who helped here

This library exists because these people said yes.

A is for Africa logo

A is for Africa

Funding

Support Our Work

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

Donate Books Apply for Your School