Book Aid International’s Community Reading Awards are given to support our partners’ efforts to reach a range of community members who they believe are in most need of the opportunity to read. Thanks to funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, grants are given to award-winners like our partner Mathare Youth Sport Association (MYSA) in Kenya.

Their winning proposal, the “Little Hands, Big Steps” project is aimed at mothers with babies and toddlers, encouraging them to share books and grow a love of reading from the earliest age. The project gives the mums a chance to spend quality time bonding with their child, but it also provides the best possible start in life for those children who attend. Being exposed to books at the earliest age opens doors of opportunity by laying the foundation for reading and learning later on.

The project launched this summer in the MYSA Githurai Library which is located in the informal settlements on the outskirts of Nairobi. Supporting a very disadvantaged community, the library offers a place for people to come, to read, to study, to play or just to get together.

While we were at the “Little Hands, Big Steps” launch event we spoke with Caroline, a local mother who was there with her baby daughter, Neriah. This is her story.

“My name is Caro and I have two children, a boy and a girl. My son is five years old and my daughter is one years old. The place that I live is fairly okay. The rent is friendly because I am a single mother and I have to feed my children. I am in a single room, but I live in an area where there are many other people – so it’s quite busy. For work I do some odd jobs like washing clothes for other people.

I live very close by to the library in the local neighbourhood and I am very happy to be very close to the library here. I am friendly with about five other mothers here. We are neighbours and we all come to the library a lot. We often discuss the library and how much we like it here. This is how we heard about the “Little Hands, Big Steps” project.

The environment here is generally very good – both for the children and for me – its friendly and they are welcoming. So, it’s a good space for both me and my children.

My five-year-old has just started school now. He has really improved his reading because he has been coming to the library and even though he is just starting school, he can already read sentences.

I am so busy with work and looking after the children but sometimes when I come here to the library, I am also able to read a little. I just read whatever is available but mostly just story books with the children.

I use the library every day because it gives me the opportunity, when I get a job, to go and work. I bring the children to the library because they are safe here. I leave the children here at the library where they are looked after. The library manager is very good with them, he looks after them – they play and read with them while I am at work.

Today, I was very happy to hear from the 17-year-old boy who has been coming to the library for many years. He started getting into books when he was very young and so now, he really loves books. I see my children also loving books like this boy – this will be very good for me. I will not have to struggle with encouraging them to read – they will already have that natural love of books.

I am really happy about “Little Hands, Big Steps” because I see an opportunity for my one-year-old to start loving books early. When she starts loving books she will be coming here to MYSA, to the library and that will make me happy. I know this is an opportunity for my daughter to grow that love of reading.”

Photos (c) Book Aid International/Esther Sweeney