VITABU VIRTUAL

v i t abu v i r t ual The o f f i c ial b log maga zi ne o f Vi t ab u Vye t u Org an izat ion

# So i l2Boo ks

The Ups , Down s and Lessons em braced from t he m i ss i on to Tu rkana

Online Edition Nยบ 01

V 2015

T h e o r g a n i z a ti o n s y m b o l i z e s t h e s e n s e o f o w n e r s h i p o f o n e s e d u c a ti o n and books which are the main tools needed for one to build their future.

We are determined to go the extra mile to ensure that we indeed get kids in school, keep them there and see them achieve their dreams.

T H E V I TA B U V Y E T U O R G A N I Z AT I O N Š

INTRODUCTION

...of many!

H e l l o t h e re ! Th a n k yo u fo r re a d i n g o u r f i r s t e d i t i o n o f V I T A B U V I R T U A L w h e r e we w i l l s h a r e e x t e n s i v e l y w h a t goes a bo u t i n o u r boo kd r i ve c a m pa i g n s a nd t h e d e l i ve r y o f t h e i t e m s we a s k yo u t o d o n a t e .

V I TABU V I RTUAL i s t he col l ec t ion of ou r jou r ney from i ncept ion of the idea to d i spac tch of the campaign unt i l we a c h i ev e o u r t a r g e t s a n d t h e c o n t i n o u s l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s t h a t we e n c o u n t e r .

I n t h i s P r e m i e r e E d i t i o n , We h a v e a l o o k a t o u r m o s t r e c e n t p r o j e c t , S o i l To B o o k s w h e r e w e a i m e d t o r a i s e boo ks , s t a t i o n e r y a nd s t o r yboo ks t o t a ke t o 2 s c h oo l s i n Tu r k a n a C o u n t y .

I t i s w i t h g rea t p l easu re and honou r t ha t I , on be hal f o f o u r g r e a t t e a m , we l c o m e yo u t o t h e e x p e r i e n c e a n d a d v e n t u re t h a t i s V i t a b u Vye t u .

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Wa nj a K i b u k i Fo u n d e r

#Vi tabu Vye t u Te a m

Wa nj a K i b u k i , Tr a c y Wa n d a Fa u z i a A b d a l l a Wa r u i N d u a t i -

C h e b e t C h e l i m o , S h i r l e y O t u b e - C o - Fo u n d e r s S e c re t a r y , Bu ya k i Ki bwa g e - Lo g i s t i c s Coo rd i n a t o r - Fi n ances Coo rd i n a to r , Sca r l e t Nd u t a - Soc i al Med i a Coo rd i n a to r Com m u n i ca t i on & S t ra teg y Coord i n a tor

5 The Pictory

The Campaign

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M A I N S TO R Y A Fu t u re i s ma d e

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v i tabu v i r t ual published by Vitabu Vyetu Organization Te l + 2 5 4 7 2 3 4 7 9 0 6 3 P. O B o x 7 3 1 9 7 - 0 0 2 0 0 N a i r o b i , K e n y a w w w. v i t a b u v ye t u . c o. ke Copyright © 2014 Vitabu Vyetu Organization Images © Bmush Photography

No par t of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrival system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means e l e c t r o n i c a l l y, m e c h a n i c a l l y, p h o t o c o p y i n g , recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher Concept Development by

Thank You!

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Digital Chef / Grey Octopus™

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T h e M i s s i o n Te a m Mee t t he g roup t hat represented t he Vi tabu Vye t u Team, Pa r t ners and Sponsors: 1. (from l ef t) Wanja Ki buk i, Sca r l e t Ndu ta and Bu yak i Ki bwage 2. Chebe t Che l i mo and Fauzia Abdal l a 3. Ou r Dr i ver, Ki nu t h ia 4. Br ian Gach i i r i, t he Photog rapher 5. Ou r 'dad' , Ji m Ki not i 6. Ofcou rse ou r Tr ust y Stead for t he t r i p

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the campaign T h e i n sp i ra t ion , b u i l d u p a n d ra l l y i n g

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"So we are going to Turkana" that a statement we were definetly not thinking we would conclude on in less than one year of running Vitabu Vyetu but nevertheless it was a feat we had to accomplish.

Tracing back, The idea of Turkana was inspired by a Special Feature aired on Citizen Tv done by Reporter Sally Mbilu called Lessons from Turkana about Lokipetot Areng’an and Kaakong Primary School in Turkana County. The sight of children not able to access the basic ammenities of learning did not add up to Wanja at first then the rest of us who went online on Youtube to watch the Clip.

Th e Ave ra g e Ag e O f Th e V i t a b u Vye t u Te a m M e m b e r s

It was unsettling and so we had to do something, anything to help them access books and not write on soil thus the name, Soil To Books(Chebet's idea) It wouldn’t be easy. We knew that from the start but we couldn’t dim it impossible unless we put our backs into it .

It was settled. We went ahead with our plan. All pumped to not be any group of ordinary early 20s youth and instead of ‘living life’, were planning on empowering children’s futures.

S2B V I TA B U V Y E T U

BOOKDRIVE I N I T I AT I V E

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They say Knowledge is power and we cruise through our lives trying to gain it. To some of us, it’s easy to find and nurture it. To an extent, we do feel some sort of entitlement to it. But what of those who don’t have the ways and means?

What of those who don’t know the importance of some level of literacy? What of those whose culture is the reason they can’t appreciate education?

These are some of the questions we try to answer in our quest to ensure kids in our society do not remain illiterate. It’s obvious we can’t do it all but we do help where we can to see a brighter future for the generation to come.

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learni ng process We knew we had much to learn throughout the campaign as we prepared or the trip. We engaged with various persons who guided us, inspired us, challenged us and ofcourse pray with us for the project to come to life all the way.

We rolled out The Online Campaign on 1st December, 2014 after an interview with Monique Angelyn on Hot 96 and from there on Social Media wa s our church and education awareness our gospel. Through out the whole campaign, we were able to give light to the essence of ensuring that children have access to books and writing materials. Though our following was small, it made due and they heard us loud and clear.

We could roll out posters and tag everyone we knew could have an interest in helping.

After all, it was December, the Month of Generosity with the beckoning of Christmas Initially, we wanted to go all out and create an event out of it but were limited by funding so we really just had to make due with what we had and we did.

We engaged Sally Mbilu who gave us a glimpse of the situation on the ground and what to expect when we head there. That was key in preparing ourselves mentally.

We went ahead and met our ‘dad’ Mr Jim Kinoti who was there to advice us every step of the way. His counsel and prayer did us alot of good.

Then there was Mr Isaac Koome from Donate A Book Kenya who had recently also made the same trip up north for the same purpose.The ideas that were channelled out from the interaction not only improved the Campaign’s set up but also instilled key lessons in the development of the organization as a whole inclusive of the individuals

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50,000 E xe rc i s e Boo ks & Stat ioner y Items

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O u r D o n a t i o n Ta r g e t s

We are glad to say that we were not alone in the build up and we were blessed to have our partner organizations who walked with us and helped sustain the online campaign effectively and it did us good.

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A Fu t u r e i s made

by Sca r l et Ndu ta

Our mission was set. The Two Schools which were to benefit from our book drive were; Kaakong and Loikepet Areng’an Primary School. quite the tongue-twister yes?

On the 7th of January 2015 we set forth on a journey to Turkana. 17 Hours on the road one way was no fun people!

We arrived in Lodwar on the 8th at 1600hrs. Sally Mbilu was kind enough to give us a contact person in Turkana, who was to act as our guide to the two primary schools.

For reasons unknown to us, the said contact person was not in a position to help us. This left us rather stranded; even though we knew the location of Kaakong Primary, the whereabouts of Loikepet Areng’an Primary school were unknown. With this slight set back, we decided to give all the writing materials to Kaakong primary school

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But on the morning of 9th, we were delighted to discover a community which was in dire need of books and other writing materials. (still trying to get the name of this place) This community lives by the beautiful shores of Lake Turkana.

After a warm welcome from the children and the elders, we were able to distribute half of our donations.

Later on we proceeded to Kaakong primary school.

At Kaakong, we were able to interact with both the children and their teachers. Its humbling to know there are souls who have dedicated their lives to teach these eager kids and shape a better future for them.

We can’t imagine starting the year any other way. Seeing kids in school is truly our joy and we hope to help more children in our society achieve their dreams. Six months from now we will be back to Turkana to evaluate the impact of our book drive on both schools. We expect it to be great news worth sharing with you all.

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THE PIC TORY

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The experience w journey and peo ever was a lot. I ties in taking th over exposure ca light from the su exc

For more of the @Vitabu Vyetu

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as amazing. The le. The heat howad some difficulshots due to the used by the harsh n. All in all, it was ing.

hotos, check out on Instagram.

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BMUSH

PHOTOGRAPHY

BMUSH Photography @JustBrayo brayo_the_photographer

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Than k Yo u !

by Chebe t Che l i mo

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We cannot express in whole how glad and greatful we are to each and everyone of you who in one way or the other contributed to the great success of Soil2Books.

On behalf of the entire Vitabu Vyetu Fraternity, THANK YOU! Special recognition to Start A Library, Tuwakuze Africa, Scarlet Digital, Eve’s House, Champion Bookshop, The Families and Friends of Vitabu Vyetu Team Members, The County Government of Turkana and our Social Media Followers.

We couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for your contributions, donations, advice and prayers and we do hope that we will foster a great relationship in our future projects because we are not done yet. Oh No! are far from close to the mid point. We are far from it!

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CC

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