Age
5
Country of Residence
Kenya
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
When I was in PP1 at Elvida Junior School, I came home on the school bus every day feeling very tired, hungry and wanting to sleep. One afternoon, the school bus driver dropped me at the gate while it was raining heavily. I ran to open the door, but it was locked because our aunty had gone out without telling Mummy. I sat outside in the rain, shivering, cold and very scared, until our kind neighbor saw me, took me inside her house to warm up and sleep and called Mummy. Another day, I waited outside alone until my uncle came to open the door. That day, something clicked in my head and I told Mummy we needed a safe place for kids whose parents are still at work. Later, when we moved to our new home, I saw even more children facing worse problems. Many parents come late from work, leaving small kids with aunties who sometimes mistreat them. Some aunties yell, pinch little children, force them to mop the big house, lock them inside alone when they go out, or deny them food. Worse, some aunties go back to their own homes at night and leave small children sleeping alone in the dark, making them cry in fear. Watching all this broke my heart and made me to be sure that opening a free, loving and safe room near the main road for children after school will protect kids and change our whole community.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Because Little Readers Safe Nest is a brand-new project launching in January, I will encourage other children and parents to join by sharing my story and inviting them to visit our room. Every day on the school bus and while playing outside, I will tell my friends how fun and comfortable our room is; where we take off our uniforms, eat snacks, read storybooks, colour, model, watch Cocomelon and sleep if we are tired. When children hear it is free and full of friends, they will excitedly bring their brothers, sisters and neighbours along. Mummy and I will also walk together through the market to speak directly with mummies and daddies selling food, vegetables and clothes in their shops. We will gently remind them how dangerous it is for children to sit outside locked doors in the rain, play near speeding vehicles on the main road or stay alone with unkind aunties who pinch or deny them food and invite them to bring their kids to our safe room instead. We will put up a big, colourful board outside our room with Mummy's phone number so passing parents can call for details. I will also encourage my schoolmates and neighbours to become helpers by donating storybooks and toys they have finished using so everyone shares in keeping kids safe and happy. Together, we can build a caring, friendly, comfortable and safe community for children.
How many people are on your team?
10
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
When we open Little Readers Safe Nest in January as schools start, we plan to welcome 20 to 30 children aged 3 to 10 years every single day after school and on weekends. I already have ten friends within my street who will join me .Instead of sitting outside locked doors in the rain, playing near dangerous cars and motorbikes on the road as we are doing, or staying with unkind aunties who pinch, lock up, or denyus food, we will have a warm, joyful place to stay. My friends who do not know English yet will quickly learn how to speak and read English as we read storybooks aloud, sing and watch Cocomelon together. Older children will help younger ones with their homework and everyone will learn good behaviour, kindness and how to share toys without fighting. Parents working late or selling in the market will finally have peace of mind, knowing their children are safe, fed and happy with Mummy and me until pickup time. Mummy will rent a house near the road, furnish it to baby children friendly, buy over 50 storybooks, crayons, modelling clay, soft sleeping mats, a TV for Cocomelon, and healthy snacks for a whole year. I know this project will work because I was once that lonely child shivering in the rain outside a locked door and I know how much every child needs a safe, loving place to grow and feel protected. Together, we will keep dozens of children safe every year.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Little Readers Safe Nest project advocates free, safe room near the main road where my friends and I can step straight off the school bus to read storybooks, colour, model with clay, watch Cocomelon, eat a healthy snack and sleep on soft mats until our parents finish working late or selling in the market and take us safely home. Together with Mummy, I want to make sure no child in our area is left locked outside in the rain, playing near busy traffic, or mistreated while parents work.
Project title
LITTLE READERS SAFE NEST
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
In our community, many parents work late in offices or stay at the market until late evening selling vegetables, food and clothes so they can pay school fees and buy food for their families. Because parents are away working hard, young children come home from school to locked doors or are left with aunties who sometimes mistreat them in their parents' absence. Some aunties yell at children, pinch them, force small kids to mop the big house, lock them inside alone when they go out, or refuse to give them food when they are hungry. Even worse, some aunties go back to their own homes at night and leave small children sleeping alone in the dark, which makes kids terrified and cry in fear. On my way home on the school bus every day, I also see many children playing near the busy main road and market where speeding cars and motorbikes can hit them. Mummy told me bad strangers can also take children away when they are playing alone without an adult watching them. When children are hungry, scared or playing near traffic, they cannot do their homework or rest well for school the next day. Solving this problem matters deeply to me because I still remember how scary it felt sitting alone outside a locked door in the rain and I want every child in my neighborhood to feel loved, fed, comfortable and safe every single day and enjoy childhood life making friends while doing similar things.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Within two months, Mummy and I will work hard to get everything ready so we can open Little Readers Safe Nest in January when the new school term begins. First, Daddy will search for a clean, secure and big room right near the main road where the school bus passes, talk to the owner since we don’t have a house near the road to rent to us. Next, we will buy soft sleeping mats, small tables, baby chairs, colourful storybooks, drawing books, crayons, modelling clay and a TV screen with wifi so we can watch Cocomelon together. At the same time, I will start telling all my friends on the school bus and around our neighbourhood about our new room so they can tell their parents. Mummy and I will also walk through the market and talk to parents selling vegetables and clothes, collecting their phone numbers and registering the children who will join for free. We will paint and hang a bright signboard outside the room reading Little Readers Safe Nest with Mummy's phone number for easy directions. After opening in January, I will ask my classmates at school to donate old storybooks they have finished reading and partner with local shops for snacks so our library grows bigger every month into a loving second home for 30 or more neighborhood kids. By next year, we hope to inspire other parents and children to open more safe reading rooms.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes Little Readers Safe Nest truly different and innovative is that it was dreamed up by me, a 5-year-old child who has personally felt the pain of waiting outside a locked door in the rain. Most daycares, libraries and after-school centres are started by adults who charge high fees that market mummies and hardworking parents cannot afford. Even when public libraries exist, they are very far from our market and close early in the afternoon while parents are still working until late at night. In regular daycares or schools, children sit stiffly on hard chairs still wearing their school uniforms where older and younger kids are separated into different rooms thus cannot learn from one another. At Little Readers Safe Nest, everything is designed from a child's heart and is completely free for families. Locating our room right near the main road means the school bus drops children safely at our doorstep without crossing traffic and being knocked by vehicles. Once inside, kids remove their uniforms, eat a healthy snack, sit on soft mats, watch Cocomelon and even nap if they are tired. Children aged 3 to 10 play together while learning from each other, big kids help small ones read storybooks, speak English and finish homework. Combining free after-school care, child safety from abusive aunties and busy roads, early reading and Mummy's trusted adult supervision makes our room a special new model for our community. While other programs only focus on schoolwork, we protect children's hearts, safety and happiness all in one warm place where every child belongs. No other place lets children feel so loved, relaxed and safe like home while their parents work.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
My parents will help me rent a big, safe and comfortable room very close to the main road where the school bus can drop us off safely without crossing dangerous streets or walking far alone. Every day after school, I will stand at the door to welcome my friends with a big smile while showing them yummy snacks. As soon as they arrive, they will take off their heavy school uniforms so they feel comfortable, wash their hands with clean water and soap and enjoy a healthy snack and a drink. Then we will sit together on soft mats to help each other with homework, read colorful storybooks, draw, model with clay and watch Cocomelon together on a TV screen. Any child who feels tired from school can lie down and sleep peacefully on the clean mats until their parents arrive. Mummy will stay with us every afternoon from 4pm until late in the evening when parents finish work or selling in the market and come to pick up their children. She will keep a register of all parents' phone numbers, mark who is present or absent, message parents when kids arrive safely and make sure everyone is clean, well-fed and protected. On Saturdays and Sundays after church, we will also open the room so kids can read, play and finish homework instead of wandering near the busy road or staying home alone with unkind aunties. Next year when I join Grade One in January, we want to launch right away. Because our own house is too small for all my friends and I do not have enough books, getting some money to rent this room near the main road and buy storybooks, toys, soft mats, a TV for Cocomelon and daily snacks for a start will help us protect every child in our neighborhood. Every child will leave happy, rested and ready for school the next morning.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I am the children's leader welcoming friends from the school bus, helping everyone share storybooks, crayons and toys, making sure no one fights or feels lonely and leading Cocomelon time. My parents will rent and set up the room near the main road, buy healthy snacks, mats, books and a TV, keep all parents' phone numbers, mark daily attendance and keep us clean and safe until evening. My parents will come and Natasha and Lessily will help make sure the friends are comfortable.
