I have decided as an information consultant my self and as a librarian too that the best way for me to contribute my knowledge and services to enhance literacy in the world is by me having an  active participation in the literacy movement rather than just talk about the difficulties the African child faces daily in the access of relevant information.
Therefore i decided to start Ziwani Boys and Girls Litclub under Litword, i have also benefited immensely from the encouragement and support of many friends who are also involved in the literacy movement across the world.This wonderful Litclub was started under the hospice of Litworld which believes that every child has got the right to the access of information and that is also the right to know how to read and write.Litworld therefore creates Litclubs which offer safe environments where kids gather to have fun, read, write and share their own personal stories which are believed to be able to change the world in a positive manner, this Litclubs are run in a praise centric manner where kids are appreciated and encouraged to express themselves much more freely.
The Litclub at Ziwani has me as the facilitator and it was started in June 16th 2012 and it had a serious attendance of this boys in the picture but after some time i was advised by one of our dear friends Michelle Nelson to also incorporate the girls, and this was true as i had on many occasions little girls following their brothers to come see and experience for themselves the goodness of the sessions as told them by their brothers whenever they came home from attending the Litclub sessions.
The experience in working with kids is so immense and i am happy i have become that force that brings change that is worthwhile in the lives of all those beautiful kids i work with at Ziwani Boys and Girls Litclub. 

NETWORKING

Information is a rich resource that is only important and relevant when its put to use. There is a bigger reason why we should all net work as depicted by my picture.

THE PLIGHT OF THE RURAL CHILDREN IN INFORMATIONAL ACCESS

The five laws of library science by Ranganathan which are Books are for use, Every reader his or her book, Every book its reader, Save the time of the reader and The library is a growing organism. This this laws form the basis upon which every librarian must strive to operate on in his or her daily work, in terms of information dissemination and its retrieval for users as well.

Kenyan schools and more so the rural ones suffer very much as pertains to the availability of libraries and its custodians the librarians. Books are not only key to the formation of a library but they are the main reference material for knowledge everywhere across the globe and thus the rural schools being from a poor back ground and unfairly placed when it comes to developmental resources and economical balance then for them libraries have become a far cry if not difficult to attain.

The Kenyan rural kid’s need for books and the formation of libraries as well are challenged and torn between the children’s access to basic human needs like food, shelter and clothing. Many of the kids are challenged in terms of getting a daily meal while at school, access to proper clothing in terms of school uniforms and as well as a proper shelter back at home that would allow the kids to have a conducive environment for reading and studying.

In some communities the boy child’s time for reading and study has to be divided between tending to the family animals which form both the economic and cultural base for the survival of the family. The girl child suffers too the constrains of education through the challenges of access to clean water, which has to be fetched far away from home and also the daily family chores entitled to the girl child like looking for fire wood and hampered by other out dated communal practices like female genital mutilation and early marriages.

Thus a rural kid’s education cannot only be transformed by the making available of books alone. These children have to be helped to access various other amenities to make education possible. I have seen rural kids go to school with worn out and torn uniforms, without shoes, on an empty stomach and more so without proper writing materials and books. As a librarian therefore I believe that there are various other things that need to be put in order for the rural kids to attain and gain access to viable education and then finally to the possibility of the formation of libraries so that education will be fairly accessible and make the right of education come true as stated in the UNESCO’s mandate and advocacy to the children of the world.

Schools therefore need to be well built and qualified teachers posted and paid handsomely for their services. The children’s basic needs must be enhanced to ensure that they are properly catered for by economically empowering their communities and also helped gain access to safe energy and clean water made available to all. Some of the long out dated cultural practices like dependence on animals for economical survival also must be changed, and this communities offered alternative means of livelihood. Things and issues that hamper peace and communal harmony like cattle rustling should be alleviated. The suffering of the girl child through long out dated practices like female genital mutilation should be resolved and early marriages discouraged.

It’s only after all this is done that we will be able to propagate and establish lasting libraries in the rural communities and ensure their stocking so that librarians will then have a chance to do well what they know best in terms of informational dissemination and retrieval and also make the five laws of Ranganathan become a reality and in practice among the library fraternity as a whole.

Education is like light that must be allowed to shine through and give change to communities and families. I am happy to say librarians are among those carrying this light and thus as informational professionals we should strive to make this light of education and access to information come true to all and more so to the children in the less privileged areas and their communities as well. 

I wish to share on how i was featured on Sandra's blog, "Words From the Wise", where i answered some few interview questions about my participation in the World Read Aloud and my poetry. 
 http://networkedblogs.com/xCLnB

SAMPLE POEMS

As a Librarian and an Information Consultant i believe i a will be leading by example when i share a sample of my poems with my readership.Thus i am honored to share my sample poems bellow.

THE WORLD READ ALOUD DAY

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations,

I listen to the story and what a story it is,

The story carries my mind and memory to far flung places,

But then

I realize I have had a journey of the mind and for a moment,

I forget about my environment and all my challenges in life.

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations,

I want to know why the voice reads aloud to the nations,

I am told it’s the worlds read aloud day.

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations

It mingles with the tweet of the singing birds, for a morning

Wake up call, for it’s just but morning,

The sun is just but rising, but the voice still goes on and strong,

The story carries with it the tells of literacy to the world, that the young

In the world can grow with strong minds of understanding and knowledge for life.

I hear the echo of a voice, reading aloud to the nations,

I listen to the story and what a story it is,

The sweet voice mingle with various other voices of nature,

The birds chirping, the sun rising, the wind blowing, the trees swaying,

The waves rising and the plains soaring with life.

Then I realize it’s not only, a voice reading aloud to the nations,

But its voices reading, all over the world, and finally,

The sun has gone down, its night and the bats are flying by,

I then continue to hear many other voices read aloud to,

The children into the deep of the night making it full of life.

THERE IS HOPE IN THE WORLD

There is hope in a world that reminds sadness, seems shadowy and dark with gloom,

There is hope in a world that might seem desolate and without glamor,

There is hope in a world that might seem dry, vast and with glean,

There is hope in a world that might seem lonely and for a moment without gladness.

Stay strong in even the most challenging life encounters,

Stay strong in even the most tempestuous winter of life experience,

Stay strong in the darkest night of all and make life an expedition,

Stay strong in the Lord who makes life and its endeavors excellence.

We have strength in family and friends and life can be lovely good,

We have strength in the people of the world, in whose face we see God,

We have strength in the bible in whose pages warm up with news good,

We have strength in God forever, who warms our hearts with joy and in whose love we see good.

I WANT TO INSPIRE

I want to inspire before I expire,

In a world with informational and educational mountains to climb,

And,

Challenges to over come.

I want to inspire before I expire,

In the world with many hungry for information and education,

Knowledge to impact.

I want to inspire before I expire,

In the world with informational and educational disparities,

And,

Many suffering as a result of lack of proper information and education.

I want to inspire before I expire,

In the world that needs inspiration, the children are calling for knowledge,

The world is calling for education and information,

I must inspire before I expire.

SUCCESS

Success!, is my question for life, my soul cries out success,

Success!, in the darkest of nights affords life, might be some times like, The cry of a cuckoo, In the silent of nights.

Success!, What’s your abode, my soul longs for you,

So that when I wake up in the morning, I listen to your voice,

In the wake up calls of the singing birds.

Success!, please shine bright for me, like in a moon light,

Shining away the darkness. 

Success!, my pleas to you, that you may shine for me,

Not like the afternoon scorching sun.

Success!, have been looking for you, and in my life,

I call you to shine.

Success!, be my early morning dance, success be my evening song,

Success have been waiting for you along the shores and forests of life,

That you may take me to the valleys and plains across,

Success!, can you give me the wings,

The wings of a dove that I may fly away, in my flight of success.

LIFE SHALL BE BETTER ONE DAY

Even though the torrents of life rage,

And thunder bolts of life,

Spark their threatening fire,

Brands of rage,

Life shall be better one day.

Even though the hot sun shine,

With burning rays,

With dry winds of desperation,

Blowing hurricanes of destruction,

Through the hot dry air of consternation,

Life shall be better one day.

It shall be on that early bright morning,

When the blue moon high above,

The obstacles and firmaments,

Shall declare success of a new day.

When the birds shall sing,

Their best songs ever sang,

That will be the day, when the children will play and say,

Life is better today than yesterday.

LESLEY KOYI INFORMATION CONSULTANCY: EDUCATION FOR ALL

LESLEY KOYI INFORMATION CONSULTANCY: EDUCATION FOR ALL: As a fundamental human right, education should be made available to every child, as it’s critical to human development and societies at l...

EDUCATION FOR ALL

As a fundamental human right, education should be made available to every child, as it’s critical to human development and societies at large. As education helps pave way to a successful and productive future to all. When quality education for all children is ensured and one that is rooted in gender equality we create waves of opportunity that impact generations to come.

Education for all enhances lives, it ends generational cycles of poverty and disease, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, enabling families to better cope with illness and improve the life expectancy of the worlds poorest and provides a foundation for suitable development. A quality basic education for boys and girls equips them with knowledge and skills necessary to adopt to a healthy lifestyle and to take an active role in social, economic and political decision making.

Because libraries are a central unit of a system that involves information storage and retrieval, and being that education has a great essence and a high place in human life and development there is much need to make libraries strong learning institutions and building libraries that can support both research and teaching needs. And being a librarian myself I know that librarians should take their position on the fore front in advocating for education for all. Instead of waiting for information seekers to come to them for help in the various libraries they are located into, librarians should market and brand library services and also bring to the notice of people across the world that librarians are an important entity in advocating for literacy and education for all.

Librarians should enhance proper access to information including assessment of the quality and quantity of research materials, both print and electronic available to users and help in the ease of use in the accessing of all information materials. It’s upon this backdrop that I participated in this years “World Read Aloud Day” which took place on March 7 2012 world over and I also wrote a poem on the same as I took part too as one of the guest readers invited by Litworld.

         WORLD READ ALOUD DAY POEM

http://litworld.org/worldreadalouddayblog/2012/3/7/a-special-world-read-aloud-day-poem-from-lesley-koyi.html

             AS A GUEST READER

http://litworld.org/worldreadalouddaychats

LESLEY KOYI INFORMATION CONSULTANCY: THE WORLDS READ ALOUD DAY MARCH 7 2012 - REACTING ...

LESLEY KOYI INFORMATION CONSULTANCY: THE WORLDS READ ALOUD DAY MARCH 7 2012 - REACTING ...: THE WORLDS READ ALOUD DAY MARCH 7 2012-REACTING TO CHANGE IN THE AFRICAN LIBRARY As librarians before we even think of disseminating Informa...