The lack of school furniture, specifically cupboards in which to safely keep our lovely books, has been a problem. We have gradually been rebuilding our collection of books, with thoughtful choices and generous donations from our friends. In our dusty environment it is important to keep the books in closed cupboards, it takes a lot to get a book out to our school, and we need to do our best to keep them in good condition once we have them.

Limited cupboard space for books
So we came up with an innovative interim solution. The Book Box Library. We pack a selection of books into a padded metal box, and it is taken out to the school by motorbike (as is everything and everyone). Once these books have been read, they are sent back to Isiolo (where I store all the things that we can’t currently keep at the school) and we pack up a new selection to send out.

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When I was a child, growing up in a remote part of the west coast of Scotland, a library van used to come to all the villages every 2 weeks. You would step inside and find a world of wonder. I see the same excitement that I used to feel, on the faces of our children, each time a newly filled book box arrives.
