It all began in Kisumu, Kenya in 2010. Brian Magwaro, who was then a 22-year-old addictions counsellor, noticed that youth in the slums of Kenya faced extreme situations of violence. Coupled with other challenges that youth face on a daily basis, such as a high crime rates, substance abuse, unemployment, and school drop-out rates, Brian wanted to make a difference in his community.

Deciding to take action on these community challenges, Brian joined the Sprout e-course in April 2010 with the hope of providing Kenyan youth with a positive and inclusive space. Later that year, he launched Football for Development – a project that uses football (soccer) as a learning and outreach tool to promote peace and teach life skills to young people.

Nyalenda is the largest slum in Kisumu. A majority of the residents in this community live on less than a dollar a day and have limited or short-term employment opportunities. Most youth and children attend public schools, which struggle with high student-teacher ratios and a shortage of resource materials, books and technology.

Committed to building on his first initiative, Brian applied and was selected as a Pearson Fellow in 2012. Through his Football for Development program he learned that many of the children participating had difficulty in accessing textbooks to complete their homework and in other cases, a limited supply of light at night made it impossible for them to accomplish the task. This then led to children falling behind, growing frustrated with school and wanting to quit.

During the Fellowship, Brian and his community co-created Nyalenda Community Library and Resource Centre. This place-based initiative was established to help Nyalenda children taking part in the Football for Development program along with other youth to access books, homework support, health education, and training in life skills. The project uses arts, theatre, sports and discussion as methods to empower the beneficiaries.

Brian’s first step was to build a team with individuals who could share this important responsibility and co-create the vision for the library and resource centre. Each team member invested efforts in seeking out resources such as unused land, building materials, book donations, financing, volunteers and partnerships. Brian says: “Sprout and the Pearson Foundation helped us go a step further to make the library function”. Additionally, a Canadian-based organization called Operation Groundswell, which offers volunteering travel experiences to young people, agreed to partner with the community to “beautify” the library and build washroom facilities.

The successful launch of the library, which saw the participation of three primary schools, encouraged their pupils to often frequent the library to get mentored, access learning facilities and reading materials that will be able to improve their performance in school. Now Nyalenda has a safe space where young people and children with limited school resources can get the educational support they need.

There are further plans for the library as new partnerships and fundraising efforts surface. In the meantime, Brian notes: “The library has brought the joy of having an avenue [of opportunity] closer to these residents.”