Kwakupokela Community Library
Lusangazi, Mzuzu, Malawi
Kwakupokela means “the place you come to receive gifts.” In this case, the Kwakupokela Library (KET) gives the gift of education through access to books. KET is dedicated to providing the community of Lusangazi with educational resources and facilities that have been previously unavailable to the community. Lusangazi is a well-populated community on the very southern end of the City of Mzuzu, Malawi and is approximately 10 km away from City resources, such as a public library or a copy center. There are numerous primary and secondary schools in the surrounding areas and by estimates, thousands of children and young adults who benefit from this Community Library and the resources it provides.
The Kwakupokela Library in its abandoned, unfunded state of disrepair.
What we’ve accomplished.
The Library was in a state of disrepair; it contained some books, but also had a leaking roof, no electricity, no internal ceiling, and was covered in dust and rodent droppings from the years of abandonment. The volunteers began creating a vision of reopening the space and making it a center of excellence and a model for other community libraries to emulate. By late 2018, significant accomplishments included:
Establishment of the Kwakupokela Education Trust (KET), registered in Malawi on 2nd February, 2018 and registered with CONGOMA (Council for Non-Governmental Organisations in Malawi)
The opening of a bank account with National Bank in Mzuzu, Malawi
A successful fundraising campaign, which enabled building of a new roof (iron sheeting), wiring of electricity, installment of an interior ceiling, painting and rodent/pest control
Development of a tracking database for transparency of monetary donations and how the Malawi kwacha (MWK) has been spent
A community-based opening ceremony including a feast and being embraced by the community along with the group village headman (GVH), Mr. Jimmy Kaunda
Educating a local community member and our head librarian, Mr. Denis Chavula, who received his Library Science Certification class in Lilongwe (Capital City of Malawi) in 2020
Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mzuzu University Department of Library and Information Sciences
Establishment of a board of directors, an executive director, an assistant to the executive director and three dedicated volunteers from the nearby community
Getting a new roof
A leaking roof and books just don’t mix. Using donations, members of the Community were hired to replace the roof with iron sheeting.
Construction continued
These same community members worked to wire electricity and put in a drop ceiling to keep the dust levels down.
Young Readers
Now we get dozens of users daily. This building offers electricity to a community in which many homes don’t have electricity or the money to buy kWh units. The nearby schools don’t supply the kids with books (heck, even the teachers often don’t have books), but COLIMA is working to buy textbooks for each subject, so that kids can access their school books after classes at the Library.
We are always FREE!!
Unlike the National Library located in the City of Mzuzu, Kwakupokela Library is available to everyone, 100% free of charge.
