Before we got down to business, the SP and PB students all sat down together to set our goals for the next 4 days. What they wanted to achieve, they decided, was a clean, open and student-friendly library, where they can actually find books. The girls told me later they set as their own goal to somehow teach the boys, over the next few days the value of having a library and reading for pleasure.
After that we set ourselves to the laborious work. Morning job: moving all of the books and furniture out of the library. Afternoon job: cleaning the library.
As we moved the books out they were separated roughly into textbooks and library books (fiction and non-fiction). It was decided the textbooks would be moved permanently to another building, creating a textbook store (where most schools in Kenya issue textbooks to students for the year). This opens up the availably space in the library and re-focuses its purpose. It also simplifies the job of the librarian as the teachers will be responsible for the textbook store.
After that we moved all of the shelving units (except those nailed to the walls), so the space was completely open. By this point we were filthy, tired, and hungry for lunch. We headed back to the Training Camp to eat, agreeing to meet in 2 hours time. No one was looking forward to what was coming next – cleaning.