In 2015 when we started working on the library at Starehe Girls Center, a top performing National Girls School, the themes we were aiming for the library were clear: excellence, academic discipline and curiosity to create an environment where good governance and self-leadership formed the backbone of scholastic initiative. We strove to meet these goals in all aspects of the library, not only from the book selections and layout of the furniture. But also in the flow of the space,  the use of light at different times of the day, the placement of information technology, and the impact of color.

We are absolutely thrilled that this focus and hard work has been recognized by the Maktaba Awards, Kenya’s highly competitive library awards, which Starehe Girls Center came in top place for the public school category (in a graded assessment by a panel of judges), meaning that for 2016 it is regarded as the best public school library in a country with nearly 40,000 schools.

The library at Starehe Girls Center was a joint project between the MPESA Foundation and KEY, and was designed and implemented by KEY.