Kwakupokela Community Library
Mzuzu, Malawi
Kwakupokela means “the place you come to receive gifts.” In this case, the Kwakupokela Library gives the gift of education through access to books, other resources such as newspapers and facilities that were previously unavailable to the community. KET (Kwakupokela Educational Trust) was established in 2018. We originally refurbished and reopened an abandoned library building in the community of Lusangazi. That library is now operating under the Kwakupokela Community Day School and KET has move it's community library location to the neighboring community of Lukalazi. Both Lusangazi and Lukalazi are well-populated communities on the very southern end of the City of Mzuzu, Malawi and are approximately 10 km away from City resources, such as a public library. There are numerous primary and secondary schools in the surrounding areas and by estimates, thousands of children and young adults who benefit from a Community Library and the resources it provides.
The original Kwakupokela Library in its abandoned, unfunded state of disrepair.
What we’ve accomplished.
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
Completed 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 in the original location of Lusangazi.
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 Lusangazi 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
Signing a 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
Establishment of a new location to the Mary Martha library in Lukalazi after first library was taken over by Kwakupokela Community Day School, 2024
Completion of minor repairs and transfer of all books to the Mary Martha location, 2024
Getting a new roof
Using donations, community members were hired to replace the roof with iron sheeting in our original Lusangazi location.
Construction continued
These same community members worked to wire electricity and put in a drop ceiling to keep the dust levels down in the original location.
Young Readers
The orignal location was serving dozens of users daily. This building offered electricity to a community in which many homes don’t have electricity or the money to buy kWh units.
NEW LOCATION!!
Our new location is only about 5km away from our original location. The new location is still 100% free of charge. The nearby schools don’t supply the kids with books (heck, even the teachers often don’t have books), but we are working to buy textbooks for each subject, so that kids can access their school books after classes at the Library. The total cost of one book is ~5,500 Malawian Kwatcha (=$3.17 USD), so any contribution goes a long way!
