About Mathare Community Center Library
Mathare Community Center Library was founded in the year 2018. It became operational a year later (2019) after library space was allocated to the founding patron Mr. John Wesonga Mang’eni by Kariobangi Catholic Church. John himself a resident of Mathare Constituency, mobilized other community members for books and library furniture.
The Center is registered as a Community Based Organization under the Laws of Kenya and it is located in Mathare Constituency and currently has about 100 registered individual members and 4 affiliate members
Our Services
- Library services
- Education bursary support
- Career and business mentorship
- Arts and sports mentorship
- Social work support
- Computer classes
ACTIVITIES
The library accommodates students for free and provides them with space and academic resources which they use for their research and studies. In the morning the students normally do their personal reading up to noon. In the afternoon, we have a volunteer instructor who guides and coaches the students every day from Monday to Friday as from 2 pm-3 pm.
As of 1st September 2020, we shall be having computer classes every day from Monday-Friday, from 3 pm-5 pm, and later on, have life skills and indoor games from 5 pm -6 pm. As time goes by and amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the library’s attendance has gone up as many students have continued to join us.
We currently have 86 library members with at least half of them attending the library on a daily basis, while the library’s capacity as at now can only sustain 30 students. This has forced some of them to read while standing while some look for alternative ways such as sitting on jerricans.
We however look forward to do further expansion that will look to it that we can accommodate as many students as possible in the near future.
Through the support of the library’s chairman Mr. John Wesonga, we offer career and business mentorship and support through the jijenge fund initiative.
The jijenge fund, which started in June 2020, is an initiative that lends loans to either start, run or expand a business to individuals and groups at 0% interest, and gives them a reasonable loan payment period, and later does a follow up with the borrower to ensure that they establish businesses as agreed.
Jijenge Fund initiative lends 5,000 to an individual and 10,000 to a group with the approval of a committee that ensures that the borrower meets the requirements.
It so far has 5 beneficiaries,4 individuals and 1 group and all the beneficiaries have set up businesses that are ongoing, with one of them successfully paying the loan and the others having paid partly and continuing with payment as agreed.
We started offering computer classes on 1st September, 2020 which will be taking place from Monday-Friday at 3 pm-5 pm, with the pioneering class of 15 students.
The course is being offered for free and the students will be certified at the end of the course. Our team of dedicated trainers is in place to make our students understand and be well equipped with computer skills and knowledge.
Through our chairman Mr. John Wesonga, we are supporting students that study in schools in Mathare constituency with reusable face masks.
With the resumption of learning for the grade IV, class eight and form four students, many students attend their classes without the facemasks and some schools have been forced to send the students back home in an attempt to follow the rules and guidelines put in place by the ministry of health and also to protect the students from contracting the virus.
On Wednesday 14th October, 2020, we were able to give 340 masks to students at Daima Primary School,300 masks to students at Salama Primary School, and 240 masks to students and teachers at Valley Bridge Primary School