Much to everyone’s delight and relief, the KRC has been authorized to
reopen! The first children to return were so happy to be back they
convinced us to stay open during the holidays this year for some extra
reading days. Happily obliging, a dozen children were able to enjoy an
afternoon of storytelling on boxing day.

We are trying our best with our limited resources to balance the
safety of our volunteer staff and children (and their families!) with
the mission of providing the community with access to the resources
traditionally offered by the library. Additional cleaning supplies
have been purchased so that the centers can be cleaned more thoroughly
and frequently. As the eager learners arrive, they first wash their
hands at our newly purchased hand-washing stations. The washing
stations are familiar to adults who lived during the Ebola crisis in
the northern part of the country. Children are guided on good
hand-washing practices and then another volunteer checks our guests’
temperature on the spot. Thankfully the weather remains mild
year-round and our buildings are already designed for fresh air
circulation. When indoors, masks are required and we do maintain
distancing. At this time, we still only have a dozen or less (very
happy) children visit at a time, but we will continue re-evaluate our
capacity and adjust our procedures as the whole regular group of kids
return. There are some reasonable outdoor spaces to take advantage of
when it is not raining or muddy, for example. Frankly, we welcome the
challenge as we missed our reading family dearly and anticipate
greater needs for academic support.

Thank you to our donors who generously continue to support the KRC.
These are very difficult times. While the pandemic has impacted some
people’s ability to give, the KRC’s costs have increased. Nonetheless,
we remain an exceptionally cost-effective organization and I couldn’t
be more proud of our continued positive impact and growth. Our
gracious supporters, local volunteers and board remain committed,
recognizing that the library remains an important safety net for
Rwandan children with long term dividends for their flourishing. Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you to our donors who generously continue to support the KRC.