Photos have been removed from this issue because of a law in Kenya requiring strict documentation for photos and videos featuring school children.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Focus on the Objective, not the obstacle" - Roy Austin
Greetings! Here is the May 2021 issue of the Libraries For Kids, Int'l monthly e-newsletter. Thanks for your interest and support. Kuwa mwema na wasaidie kujifunza (Be kind and help them learn)
Roy Austin, Founder/Chair
EVERYTHING IS FIGUREOUTABLE
Great book by Marie Foleo
Meet Abdi
Meet Abdi (Abdisalan). He is 9 years old and in grade 2. He started schooling at Shidley Primary School. Abdi’s parents divorced and he remained with his father. His father makes his living herding goats. Upon realization that his teacher, Nicholas Mboi Mutua, was transferred to Marothiley Primary School, he transferred to Marothiley Primary.
Abdi wants to become a teacher someday. He is humble and hardworking. Listen Here to his thanks to Libraries For Kids, Int'l.
IN THE NEWS
Sun City Hilton Head TV just did this story about Libraries For Kids, Int'l. Listen Here.
GOAL: 1 MILLION CHILDREN
The 8 containers we are shipping will create libraries in 1,600 schools impacting the lives of 250,000 children. But this is just the start. There are over 6,700 rural schools in Kenya with little or no internet or electricity. On average there are 150 students per school so that calculates to over 1 million children that you can help get an education and have a better life.
A Little Goes A Long Way
A little goes a long way in Kenya. Here is how your donation can help.
- $6 will buy 1 textbook
- $24 will supply a child with textbooks in 4 subjects
- $35 will enable us to deliver books from our warehouse in Kenya to one school. Delivery is commonly done by motorcycle.
Every donation helps. You can set up a recurring monthly donation on our website.
SCHOOL OF THE MONTH
MSORONGO PRIMARY SCHOOL
Msorongo primary was started in 1973. It is situated in a semi- arid area. It has pre-primary and primary classes. It has a total of 263 students. Pre-Primary=40 students and Primary class 1- 8 = 223 students. Their ages range between 4yrs to 16yrs. The greatest challenges are lack of sufficient water and wildlife conflict as the school has no fence, so the security of the kids is compromised. Headteacher Hannah Mwambela
Here are pictures of the children with their new books.
TESTIMONIAL
Nicholas Mboi, Headteacher at Marothiley Primary School reports higher enrollment and parents coming in the evening for more education.
From: Sent: Sunday, February 7, 2021 3:46 AM To: books@libraries4kids.org Subject: Re: On The Water Hi sir, your support has had a tremendous boost on our enrollment even some have resulted to learn during the night time then during the day they go to look after their livestocks since they are pastoralists community, thanks a lot. Here are some pictures of parents in class in the evening.
Smile.Amazon For Kids
You can support Libraries For Kids, Int'l with your Amazon purchases. It's easy. Set up an account at Smile.Amazon.com. It is the same as a regular Amazon account except that you have the option to designate a charity. Please designate Libraries For Kids, Intl. Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to your charity. The donation comes from Amazon, not you. When you place an order, login to Smile.Amazon and proceed as you normally would with any other Amazon purchase. Thanks for your help. PS - For more information about Libraries For Kids, Int'l visit our website or contact Roy Austin at books@libraries4kids.org or phone him at 843-597- 4826.
HELP: Please donate so we can get the books to the schools once they arrive in Kenya. Please contribute $35 to get books to a school.
We've come so far and cleared so many hurdles. Please help us clear this next hurdle and get the books delivered to the schools.
"We've each been given a bag of tools, a formless rock, and a book of rules. And each must make ere life is flown, a stumbling block or a stepping stone."
Walt Whitman
NEW BOARD MEMBER DANIELLA STONEFIELD
We are delighted to welcome Daniella Stonefield to the Libraries For Kids Board of Directors. Daniella brings a wealth of marketing expertise to our team. Daniella owns and operates a bespoke real estate brand, Elevé Properties (Charter One Realty), with her business partner and fiancé, Ric Hollifield. An alumna of The Ohio State University, Daniella studied Philosophy, Economics,
Political Science, and Aviation under a Pre-Law focus. Her professional background includes public speaking, negotiation, management, banking, networking, small business growth, marketing, and design. Actively involved in the local community, Daniella has served on numerous boards and in leadership roles, including the Bluffton Rotary, Friends of Bluffton Dog Parks, is a multi-year recipient of the REALTOR® Service Award, and currently serves on the Hilton Head Area Association of REALTOR®S Legislative Committee. Daniella is the Founder of the Bluffton Chamber Young Professionals Network, serves as Co-Vice Chair on the Greater
Bluffton Chamber’s Executive Board, and spearheaded the development and growth of the Bluffton Chamber Ambassadors Program as we know it today. She is a proud graduate of Leadership Beaufort, a competitive year-long program that provides its participants with intimate knowledge of our local and county governmental structure and workings, school system, judicial system, local economy, and more.
When she is not working, Daniella enjoys cooking, painting, music, supporting the arts, being outdoors, golf, gardening, reading, political engagement, and travel. Although she is proud to have lived all over the Lowcountry, from Beaufort to Hilton Head, Daniella currently lives the beach life in Palmetto Dunes with Ric and their German Shorthaired Pointer, Daisy.
SPREAD THE WORD
Please, spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends and contacts, or posting excerpts from this newsletter, or our website, (copy/paste) on your social media accounts.
Together we can make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of children. Lavington Jioni Rotary Club We are excited to report that we have partnered with the Lavington Jioni Rotary Club in Nairobi, Kenya. They will be assisting us with receipt, stamping, repacking, and delivering the container books to schools. They are coordinating activities with all of the 40 other Rotary Clubs in Kenya to help Libraries For Kids, Int'l.
https://www.facebook.com/rotarycluboflavingtonjioni/
What does your donation accomplish?
Libraries For Kids, Int'l offers not a handout, but a hand up. Parents in rural Kenya pay tuition for their children to go to school. It is a huge sacrifice when your income is derived from a subsistence farm or your herd of sheep, goats, or cattle. But it is a testament to their hunger for knowledge.
The Kenyan government gives each rural school $5.50 per student per year. For a school with a student population of 100 that is $550.00 per year to pay for the schools expenses (teacher salaries, textbooks, supplies, etc.) As a result, textbooks and libraries are lacking.
How can people lift themselves up and solve their problems without knowledge?
Your donations are helping children in Kenya, and hopefully someday other countries, to help themselves.
I hope you will consider Libraries For Kids, Int'l.
Media Attention
WTOC TV
Bluffton, SC Chamber of Commerce Spotlight
Please share these stories with your friends and on your social media platforms. Thanks
For more news about Libraries For Kids, Int'l visit our website
SPEAKING
We love telling the Libraries For Kids, Int'l story. If your organization needs a speaker please contact us at books@libraries4kids.org or phone us at 843-597-4826. We look forward to sharing our story with your group.
Donor Honor Roll
Our Donor Honor Roll is based on cumulative contributions. No matter what level you are on, you are important. But your continuing support is also vital. We hope you will continue to contribute and gradually move to a higher level on the honor roll. A little each month and you will soon be at the next level. You can now set up a monthly donation HERE. You can also make a tribute gift in honor or memory of someone. There are a lot of new names on the honor roll this month and several people who have moved up to the next level.
So far we have received donations from 215 people or organizations located in:
Five Countries: Australia, France, Kenya, Northern Mariana Islands, USA 29 States: AK, AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, IN, IL, KS, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, OH, OK, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI
Click Here to see the full donor Honor Roll
Here are the different honor roll levels and who is on each level. The Swahili word is in parenthesis.
Meerkat (Meerkat)
Donated books and/or money.
So far there are 123 Meerkats. Click here [to see them all. Some of](/about/honor-roll/) you are close to the Zebra level so please consider an additional donation.
Zebra (Punda Milia) - $100 or more
To date there are 67 Zebras. Click here to see them all
Impala (Pala) - $500 or more
Delores Ackerman Anonymous Benton Bowen Kirk Fox Jim & Karen Ralston Gary Shepard Rick & Cindy Jacobs Susan Kreick
Giraffe (Twiga) - $1,000 or more
Den & Jan Austin Charleston CFO Council Ed & Betty Eich Mickaylla McDonald JR & Betty Rutherford Janice Allinder-Anestes Ty & Suzanne Giesemann
Oryx (Choroa)- $2,500 or more
Marilyn Moore Steve & Ruth Dexter
Rhinoceros (Kifaru): $5,000 or more
Sable Antelope (Mfano Mzuri): $7,500 or more
Cheetah (Duma): $10,000 or more
Rick & Becky Harris
Leopard (Chui) - $25,000 or more
Dr. David Stallings
Lion (Simba) - $50,000 or more
Roy & Sharron Austin
Elephant (Tembo) - $100,000 or more
Maasai Club - $250,000 or more
The Maasai are among the foremost African ethnic groups and are known internationally because of their links to the national parks and reserves. They respect the land and are adapting to the changing world around them.
Sharron Austin Society - $500,000 or more
Sharron was an inspiration to Libraries For Kids, Int’l Founder Roy Austin. Her life philosophy was “Life is not the way it is supposed to be. It is the way it is. How you cope with it is what makes the difference.” Her smile, positive attitude, and ability to overcome numerous challenges in her life are an inspiration to all. She died on March 29, 2020. She is sorely missed but her spirit lives on. She was an enthusiastic supporter and donor to Libraries For Kids, Int’l.
MEET OUR PARTNERS
We are blessed to have several partners who have donated their time and services. Paul Soviero, Owner, Next Move HHI is helped us find bookcases for our storage location. http://www.nexmovehhi.com/index.php
James Worix, owner of Worix Media is helping us with IT and media editing services.
Paul Uhls BNC Graphics 19 Seventh Ave, Bluffton, South Carolina 29910 https://bncgraphics.com/
Supplied business cards and rack cards
Dan Russin Store Manager Morningstar Storage 1110 Fording Island Rd Bluffton, SC 29910
Donated a 10ft x 10ft space for us to store books.
Allison Debs Lewis Territory Account Manager Staples Advantage www.staplesadvantage.com
Staples has donated shipping boxes and packing tape
Alan Flowers and Roman Surroundings are helping us spread the word about Libraries For Kids, Int'l. 70 Pennington Dr. Studio 16D Bluffton, SC 29910 The Stations call-in # 843-800-1492; Office # 843- 505-8513 https://www.talkoneradio.com/
