Kenya | Ustinov Library, Make Me Smile International, Deutsche Postcode Lottery

A Safe Place for Reading and Learning for Children and Young People

Promoting intellectual development

The Safe Park Kisumu was built in 2015 with the support of the United Nations Women’s Guild.
The park, which includes a playground as well as football and volleyball fields, laid the foundation for the Mayenya Community Centre. Today, the centre operates a health clinic, a tailoring workshop, an IT centre, a youth centre, a water treatment facility, and a canteen.
The Early Childhood Development Centre located within the Safe Park was converted into a children’s and youth library in 2023. The primary aim is to promote the intellectual development of children in particular. The Ustinov Library project is supported by the Deutsche Postcode Lottery.

Library, Children’s Club, Educational Theatre

At the Safe Park, children have the opportunity to develop both athletically and artistically.
Through artistic engagement, children develop a wide range of skills, discover their strengths and weaknesses, and learn to express their emotions. Sporting activities help children cope with conflicts in a playful way.
The library provides children and young people with access to a wide variety of books in a safe and protected environment.
Several hundred children from the community and surrounding schools are invited to the Children’s Club each month to spend a day at the Safe Park.
The participatory educational theatre is an awareness-raising initiative. A theatre group from Kisumu addresses socially relevant topics such as gender equality, violence against women, child abuse, reproductive health, and school dropouts.

Education, play, and sport for thousands of children

After school, the Safe Park offers children and young people a safe place to retreat—whether to play, engage in sports, or read and learn. By integrating the library into the Safe Park, a space is created where education and leisure harmoniously interact, fostering the social and intellectual development of children.
Through the Children’s Club, approximately 6,000 children are reached each year. They participate in a variety of sports and artistic programmes, as well as debate clubs that address and discuss socially relevant issues such as violence against women and child abuse.
The participatory educational theatre programme reaches approximately 3,600 children and young people annually. These educational theatre sessions take place twice a month and have been highly successful. As a result, teenage pregnancies in participating schools were reduced from 68 to 11 between 2017 and 2023.

Learn more now about the many projects we have been able to realize in the name of Sir Peter Ustinov with the help of numerous supporters.