This week the KEY Team is in Narok South, setting up the libraries at Kisaruni Girls Secondary School and Oleleswha Girls Secondary. Both of these schools are run by an organization called Free the Children, and they are very impressive. The girls come from very humble, rural backgrounds, almost always with no other secondary school options because of their grades and lack of funds. But here, they are transformed in even just one year to eloquent, confident, and very studious students.
The most popular books so far seem to be those on health (Where There Is No Doctor, by Moran Publishers, definitely leading in this category), fashion (I Love Your Style by Amanda Brooks, 100 Unforgettable Dresses, and The Style Clinic) leadership (The Power of Social Intelligence by Toni Robbins), and cooking (both Gwyneth Paltrow’s and Jamie Oliver’s drawing huge fans).
We have spent the past two days introducing the girls and teachers to the books, and then training them on book care (which they were already well aware of here, but it is an important part of our program nonetheless and never a step we skip). The girls have been covering the books, which gives them a great opportunity to get to know all the different titles they will be able to read.
Tomorrow, KEY Iterns Judy, Stephanie, and Angela will be posting Field Notes about the setup from their perspective, having just graduated last year from a girls secondary school, and seeing the transformations here.