Little Free Library and Books For Africa, nonprofits based in St. Paul, are collaborating with students and faculty at San José State University in California to send 50,000 children’s books to the Kenyan National Library Service and to Little Free Libraries throughout the country.
Called “Soma Safari,” meaning Reading Adventure, the project is aimed at improving literacy among children. Students and faculty at the School of Information at San José State helped organize the shipment, raised money, and coordinated with the Kenyan National Library Service to organize book distribution and help create a “book ecosystem.” Little Free Library is also sending six new book-sharing boxes. Books For Africa has collected the books and is helping to organize the shipment. Thomson Reuters has provided funds for this shipment and for a reference law library as well.
His Excellency David Kerick, Ambassador of Kenya to the United States, announced the collaboration along with leaders from the organizations at the Books For Africa annual breakfast and lunch. Ambassador Kerick, a lawyer by profession, has vast experience in strategic management, policy development, performance management, and leadership. He has been ambassador to the U.S. since 2024. Kenya is located in eastern Africa with a population of 52.4 million (in 2024), 7th largest in Africa.
Little Free Library Executive Director Greig Metzger said, “With Little Free Library book-exchange boxes in 128 countries around the world, it is only natural for us to join the Soma Safari initiative and donate the boxes that will be used in this pilot program. It is an honor to be working with existing partners—our St. Paul neighbor, Books for Africa, with its long legacy of providing books across the African continent, and the San Jose State University iSchool—as well as new partners, the Kenya National Library Service and Knowledge Empowering Youth. We are confident that this collaboration can inspire young Kenyans to become lifelong readers.”
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