"Kutztown group sends thousands of books to Kenya"

Courtesy of Bamboula Ltd. | Workers load a truck with cartons of books destined for Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. George K. Muugi, a Kutztown University professor, and Jasperdean Kobes, owner of Bamboula Ltd. in Kutztown, led efforts that collected books to be sent to the African nation.

KUTZTOWN, PA
When Dr. George K. Muugi was growing up in Kenya in the 1960s, books were so scarce that he often had to go to the American Embassy in Nairobi to have access to the latest publications.

"We poured over any kind of reading material we could find," recalls Muugi, a professor of psychology at Kutztown University.
A shortage of books still exists in Kenya, and Muugi is leading an effort to ensure that students in Kenya will have greater access to books than he did as a youngster.
Educational Resources for Kenya, a Kutztown group Muugi founded, is sending about 25,000 used books to libraries, schools and universities in his native country in east Africa.
A shipment that left Kutztown in October was headed to primary and secondary schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. A more recent shipment is bound for Kenyatta University, Muugi's alma mater, in Nairobi.
In the works is a third shipment, which will be sent this month to Mt. Kenya University, the largest private university in Kenya.
The project began in 1998, when Muugi was on sabbatical at Kenyatta University. When he was leaving, he left some of his books behind for students studying psychology.
Those few books have grown into Muugi Library, a reading room in the psychology department at Kenyatta University.
Jasperdean Kobes, Muugi's spouse, said schools in Berks County, Philadelphia and New York donated textbooks to be sent to Africa.
"Several libraries, including Kutztown Community Library, donated books," said Kobes, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia.
Retiring Kutztown University professors donated texts, Kobes said. Students groups at Kutztown University, Albright College and Cedar Crest College also made donations.
Chuck Brown, owner of the former The Used Book Store in Kutztown, donated about 1,000 novels and other books.
The books were stored in the warehouse of Bamboula Ltd. in Kutztown, Kobes' distributorship of baskets made in Africa.
It takes seven weeks for the books to complete their journey from Kutztown - via the port of Newark, N.J. - to Kenya.
Educational Resources for Kenya, a volunteer group, relies on contributions to carry out its work.
While used books are plentiful, sending them to Africa costs $6,200 per shipment. Kenyatta University and a female member of Kenya's parliament are paying for transportation costs once the books reach Kenya, Muugi said.
Educational Resources for Kenya was incorporated about 20 years ago. Over the years, it has sent several shipments of books to Africa.
Its leadership includes Eldon and Adrienne Katter, and Dennis and Mary Rains.
The Katters are both former Peace Corps volunteers in Ethiopia. Eldon is a retired Kutztown University art professor and Adrienne is a retired math specialist in the Kutztown School District.
Dennis Rains, who teaches psychology at Kutztown University, has been to Kenyatta University on a faculty exchange program
Mary Rains, who taught reading to children at KidsPeace in Lehigh County, says the project is close to her heart, both personally and professionally.
"I really believe in the importance of having real books," Rains said. "If you want kids to become good readers, they have to have a book in hand."
Books are expensive in Kenya, Muugi says, making them unaffordable for many students. Teachers have texts, but students often do not.
Internet access is also expensive and beyond the reach of many Kenyan families, he says.
"My greatest hope," Muugi says, "is to see libraries started in small communities across Kenya."