Nairobi-based Rotary Club of Ridgeways and Rukuriri Tea factory have donated 700 textbooks to Rukuriri Primary School in Embu.
The organisations hope the donations will nurture a reading culture among the pupils in the schools in the area.
The Rotary Club of Ridgeways donated the books to be stocked in the library built by Rukuriri Tea Factory. The books were handed over on May 28.
The school has been experiencing a stiff challenge in managing high numbers of students with only a few books. The library will be expanded to accommodate more than the 25 pupils it currently seats.
“Reading culture among our students has been a problem since the parents cannot easily afford the books needed. This comes as a relief to us the teachers of this school and we are now looking forward to achieving better results in the national examinations," said Kenneth Gitonga, head teacher at Rukuriri Primary School.
He added, "Our students have improved in their examinations since the library started operating.”
The Rotary Club of Ridgeways was fulfilling one of its missions to offer basic education and improve literacy.
“We chose to come here because it is a fairtrade community and we feel this community and their children deserve these books we have brought to them. Our aim is to help with the challenges facing the community and that’s why we decided to land in Rukuriri Primary School,” said Nyagoy Nyong’o, Interim CEO of Fairtrade International.
District governor’s representative Margaret Munene said, “What drives us is the passion to bring change in our community by providing humanitarian service and encouraging high ethics in all fields.”
Rukuriri Tea Factory director Joshua Kanake lauded the Rotary Club of Ridgeways for continuing to support the education sector.
“We are proud to see the fairtrade community recognise our hard work in our tea production work. People working in our factory can recognise the appreciation and they feel motivated to continue serving their loved business,” Kanake said.
