Kiambu residents have protested lack of adequate libraries within the County as they say that the situation is currently compelling them to purchase extra books for revision and entertainment.
A section of parents on Friday pointed out that sending their children all the way to Thika to access library services in order to engage in their studies has proved difficult since some of them live far from the area. Some of them are concerned about the transport cost they have to incur daily.
This comes after Mary Kirobi, Director of Gender, Culture and Social Services in Kiambu County, informed KNA in her office that there is only one public library within the county and that is the one in Thika under the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS).
However she added that there is another in Kikuyu currently being constructed by the county government but is not yet close to completion.
Joanne Wanjiku, a resident from Kahawa Sukari estate said that the situation has made it extremely difficult for her daughter to engage in her assignments during this holiday period following the ban on holiday tuition by Government.
“I cannot send Kendy to Thika every time she is unable to do her assignments due to lack of the required textbooks for revision purposes. Honestly, from Kiambu to Thika is not that far compared to other areas but my daughter is only 14 years old and I feel that she is still young to be left in an area whose routes she is not fully aware of.
I would rather take her to the library located in Capital Hill in Nairobi since it is closer to my work place and this makes it safer compared to Thika,” she said.
The only library was closed down in 2013 after the administration of the County Government of Kiambu removed books from the community hall that was being run by the defunct municipal council of Kiambu. The hall was then partitioned and is now being used by officers of the County Government as offices.
By Kingsley Wanjohi
