Grand Opening of Likoni Youth Empowerment Library

The opening of the Likoni Library is set for early August 2011, all factors remaining constant. It will be a hub of activity offering such services as internet access and a quiet place for students to study. Presently the Ag. Librarian Wafula with the help of Kassim and student volunteers, are cataloguing books so that all will run smoothly. Wafula says the chronicling is about half way done and he is very optimistic about the outcome of his and the efforts of those who are assisting him with this project.
There will also be computer classes and funds raised will assist in maintenance costs of the library, as soon as the opac system is in place it will become a borrowing library but for now folks will just read and study and conduct their own research. The energy around this facility is bound to bring about positive change to the Likoni community!

OUR STUDENT MURALS

Throughout the April school holiday Hatua Likoni's scholarship students have been learning how to draw and paint. At the end of three weeks they have finished 4 murals, each 8ft by 5ft, and each based on a Swahili Proverb.

"Go East, Go West, Home is Best"

"Money if you use it decreases, but education, when you use it, increases"

"Those who work in the sun eat in the shade"

"A broken cooking spoon doesn't mean you stop cooking"

LIKONI LIBRARY IS FURNISHED

After two years as an empty room Likoni's Youth Empowerment Center Library is finally furnished!

The building was constructed with funding from Likoni's Constituency Development Fund (money allocated by the Kenyan Government and managed under the supervision of our local Member of Parliament) and complete in early 2009. Since then no government funding as been allocated to furnish the facility.

Hatua Likoni got tired of waiting, so in Sept 2010 we organized a committee of teachers and community members to plan fundraising activities for furniture. In early Feb. 2011 we hosted an Harambee (community fundraiser), and together with support from SDL Foundation, managed to raise 590,000 Kenya Shillings ($7,400).

With this amount and the expert work of our carpenter, Peter Ochola, we have build 5 wall shelving, 4 center pillar shelves, 9 reading tables, a librarians reception desk and computer tables for 9 desktops. We are remaining with money to buy computers which will then help earn income to pay the facilities expenses.

The day we placed chairs around the new tables students were already hard at work making use of them. However, we still don't have enough chairs. To donate a chair for $19 please visit http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/library/library_donate/.

Hatua did not accomplish this alone. We thank the members of Likoni Library's steering committee, particularly its chairman, Mr. Ngombo. We thank Post Bank and Cooperative Bank for their generous contributions, we thank the Likoni schools that contributed 2,000 Ksh each and all the students that help to raise funds through student proformers. We thank SDL Foundation for their major contributions to furniture and computers, we thank American Friends of Kenya and The East Side Community High School in NYC for book donations, and we thank Desi and Juma for their hard work as Library Development Interns.

Still our work is not finished. Tomorrow we will begin interviewing volunteer librarians to help us catalog our books. If you or someone you know is qualified and interested in this position please contact us at volunteer@HatuaLikoni.org.

STUDENTS VISIT DIANI BEACH ART GALLERY

Last week our students finalized their compositions based on Swahili proverbs and painted four large murals, each 8 ft x 5 ft. When asked all said they loved the project and most stayed late everyday engrossed in the work. Some were big picture artists, while others took on the detail work. Together they created murals that showcase the beauty and diversity of the Likoni community.

On Saturday we concluded three weeks of art education and mural making by taking 31 students, our two art teachers, some of the Hatua staff and Brigid, our FSD Intern, on a field trip to Diani where we visited the Diani Beach Art Gallery, a gallery dedicated to fine African art. Learn more at http://www.dianiart.com/. Brigid organized the gallery tour together with Diani Beach Art Gallery's owners who generously hosted our group and exposed them to the breath of styles being created by East African artists. The students were given a private tour and walked away inspired. The gallery owners saw photos of the student's murals and were extremely impressed with their talent, they even offered to feature our students' art on the gallery's Facebook page.

After the galley visit we spent a few hours at the beach, eating a delicious pilau lunch and playing in the surf. For 19 out of the 31 students this was their first trip to Diani. Everyone had a wonderful time and it was the perfect ending to a rewarding student project. Now our goal is to find ways to leverage the murals to develop awareness and a new income stream for Hatua. Given the initial reaction and feedback this should not be difficult.

STUDENTS MAKE MURALS

Recently another San Francisco based volunteer, Brigid Brahe, came to Hatua with a project concept for our students to paint murals of the local Likoni community during their Spring Break holiday. The project's main goals were to teach students basic drawing and painting skills while allowing them to express their creativity, to learn teamwork, and to ultimately use the murals to raise awareness and funds for Hatua. Brigid felt that we could digitize the art work and place it on items such as t-shirts, beach bags, posters etc. to sell to the local tourist community as well as on line in the US and Europe. We decided there would be four 5' x 8' murals painted on canvas and each mural would follow a theme based on a local Swahili proverb.

We hired two local art teachers, a Finnish art teacher named Suvi and a very talented local painter named Peter. During last week's sessions Suvi and Peter taught the students basic drawing concepts, basic painting technique and color theory, then sent them out to photograph images in the community as inspiration for their murals.

This week the students continued to practice their painting skills and have gotten into their groups to work out their mural imagery and composition in readiness for next week's mural painting event.

Hatua's Interns Continue their Impact from Home!

Stephanie Tholand, a 2010 Hatua intern, left a big mark here by designing a monitoring and evaluation program to help Hatua track its impact on the lives of our student. During her 6 month stay with us she also organised an 'International Literacy Day' event that brought together education stakeholders and students to highlight the need for a public library in Likoni.

Stephanie with Kwame during a clean-up event in Likoni

Back in San Francisco, Stephanie is expanding her impact by creating the Bay Area International Development Meetup Group, a community of international development professionals and enthusiasts who share knowledge and promote dialogue about development.

Students during International Literacy Day

Click here to read all about Stephanie's development activities.

SHELVES IN THE LIBRARY!

The money raised during Likoni's Library fundraiser in February is being put to use! Last week, Hatua hired a carpenter and purchased the timber needed to build 9 library shelves.

Kwame off-loading timber

After being purchased and planed in town we transported our timber across the ferry to Likoni and offloaded it in the library. On Friday 11th March, our fundi (carpenter) began building.

The carpenter at work

Half the shelves are now complete and looking wonderful! The rest should be finished by weeks end. Before long they'll be covered with over 2000 books donated by American Friends of Kenya and the East Side Community High School, in New York City.

Some of the fixed shelves

When work on the shelves is finished, we'll begin building reading tables. Stay tuned for word of more progress!

For more information on Hatua Likoni, click here.