Kenya's new library gives glimpse of outside world to local children

"Can you see the Great Wall?"

At the newly opened Amani Kibera Book House in Kibera, Nairobi's largest informal settlement, Ling Pak-wai, a PhD student from the School of Architecture of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, or CUHK, is reading a picture book about the Great Wall of China with a group of local children.

"The Great Wall in China is like a big dragon," Ling tells them, explaining that the wall stretches so far that they cannot see where it ends, as a cluster of curious eyes follows her words. The children, dressed in clean red school sweaters, listen closely.

Designed by Condition_Lab, an architectural research team affiliated with CUHK's School of Architecture, the book house transformed an existing library into a larger space for reading, learning and community activities.

"The word 'amani' is a Swahili word that means peace, so Amani Kibera means peace in Kibera," said Ben Ooko, founder of Amani Kibera, a community-based organization that has operated the library and will continue to manage the new facility.

"We look at the power of books to unite the people of Kibera and to promote peace within Kibera," Ooko said, noting that residents have long faced challenges including limited access to educational facilities and other public services, as well as concerns over crime and insecurity.

According to Ooko, the community spent nearly 10 months discussing with the CUHK team what kind of space it needed and how it should be used. Ling, who coordinated the design with the community, spent nearly a year in Kibera after arriving last August.

Women, young people and older residents took part in discussions and construction, earning income while helping shape a space that reflects community needs, Ooko said.

Rather than being a conventional, enclosed library, the building features a series of movable doors on the ground floor. When fully opened, the interior connects directly to the courtyard, allowing the library to transform into a space for community gatherings and activities.

'Whole community center'

"It's more than a library," Ooko said. "It's a whole community center." Since its opening, the building has already hosted a community meeting on urban farming attended by about 100 people.

Ling said the facade of the building incorporates recycled materials, including plastic bottle caps. "The idea is to use local materials to build the library," she said.

In late June, when the main structure was completed, a completion ceremony was held at the book house. A lion dance performance brought an unexpected touch of Chinese culture to the event, drawing curious students from nearby schools.

"I felt a kind of vitality that I had never seen before," she said. "The children had very carefree smiles. Dancing to music was just part of everyday life here."

The team eventually chose Amani Kibera as the project site, in part because the local library team had already been working in the community for more than a decade.

"We cannot stay here forever," Ling said, adding that the new book house is expected to be handed over to the local team by the end of August to continue serving the community.

The shelves offer the children a glimpse of a world beyond Kibera. Ooko said about 40 percent of the collection comes from China, including books on Chinese history and geography.

Zhang Chi contributed to this story.

wuxiaohui@chinadaily.com.cn