Nairobi's new chapter: These women are restoring and reclaiming Kenya's dilapidated, colonial-era libraries

By Cai Pigliucci, CNN

Updated 0214 GMT (1014 HKT) November 30, 2021

Book Bunk was founded in 2017 to restore dilapidated libraries in Nairobi, Kenya. The Eastlands Library (pictured) is one of two libraries the team has transformed already, with a third in the works. "Libraries are one of the last kind of mutual spaces we have in any society," says Book Bunk co-founder Wanjiru Koinange.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
Book Bunk was founded in 2017 to restore dilapidated libraries in Nairobi, Kenya. The Eastlands Library (pictured) is one of two libraries the team has transformed already, with a third in the works. "Libraries are one of the last kind of mutual spaces we have in any society," says Book Bunk co-founder Wanjiru Koinange.
Hide Caption
1 of 12
The Kaloleni Library, pictured here in 2018 before renovation, is one of the busiest in the city. Across all three libraries, about 300 people use the spaces to work or study every day. But with asbestos, old furniture and broken floorboards, the team at Book Bunk had their work cut out for them.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
The Kaloleni Library, pictured here in 2018 before renovation, is one of the busiest in the city. Across all three libraries, about 300 people use the spaces to work or study every day. But with asbestos, old furniture and broken floorboards, the team at Book Bunk had their work cut out for them.
Hide Caption
2 of 12
Before Book Bunk restored the building, there was little running water and the bathrooms did not function at the Eastlands Library in Nairobi's Makadara neighborhood.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
Before Book Bunk restored the building, there was little running water and the bathrooms did not function at the Eastlands Library in Nairobi's Makadara neighborhood.
Hide Caption
3 of 12
"It just looked like a really old forgotten place that had at one point in history received lots of love, but then it just kind of stopped," Koinange says.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
"It just looked like a really old forgotten place that had at one point in history received lots of love, but then it just kind of stopped," Koinange says.
Hide Caption
4 of 12
Book Bunk set to work transforming the spaces. The group added reading nooks, new shelving and seating areas, including the ones seen here at Kaloleni, pictured in June 2020 before the books were returned to the shelves. "It's incredible what a bit of paint and some care will do for public spaces in this country," says Koinange.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
Book Bunk set to work transforming the spaces. The group added reading nooks, new shelving and seating areas, including the ones seen here at Kaloleni, pictured in June 2020 before the books were returned to the shelves. "It's incredible what a bit of paint and some care will do for public spaces in this country," says Koinange.
Hide Caption
5 of 12
The team also put in new outdoor spaces, complete with fresh grass and gardens, that can accommodate an overflow of people when the library gets cramped with readers. They installed contemporary art in the courtyard at the Eastland Library to add some funky flair.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
The team also put in new outdoor spaces, complete with fresh grass and gardens, that can accommodate an overflow of people when the library gets cramped with readers. They installed contemporary art in the courtyard at the Eastland Library to add some funky flair.
Hide Caption
6 of 12
The Kaloleni Library now has a dedicated children's library. But across the libraries' collections, Book Bunk noticed the Africanist collection was lacking. "We'd like to build a special collection that favors writing by and about Africans, the Black experience, the diaspora," says Book Bunk's other co-founder, Angela Wachuka. The team is adding to the collection -- Book Bunk has the East African publishing rights to "Sulwe," a children's book by Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
The Kaloleni Library now has a dedicated children's library. But across the libraries' collections, Book Bunk noticed the Africanist collection was lacking. "We'd like to build a special collection that favors writing by and about Africans, the Black experience, the diaspora," says Book Bunk's other co-founder, Angela Wachuka. The team is adding to the collection -- Book Bunk has the East African publishing rights to "Sulwe," a children's book by Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o.
Hide Caption
7 of 12
Wachuka and Koinange are now fundraising to renovate Nairobi's central McMillan Memorial Library. Opened in 1931 by Lucie McMillan for her husband, Sir William Northrup McMillan, the library was only accessible to White colonizers until 1962. "It has its own ghosts, just in terms of Kenyans feeling that it's not quite theirs fully -- it wasn't built for them. We were not allowed to come into this building until just before independence," says Wachuka.
Photos: Book Bunk is bringing these old Kenyan libraries back to life
Wachuka and Koinange are now fundraising to renovate Nairobi's central McMillan Memorial Library. Opened in 1931 by Lucie McMillan for her husband, Sir William Northrup McMillan, the library was only accessible to White colonizers until 1962. "It has its own ghosts, just in terms of Kenyans feeling that it's not quite theirs fully -- it wasn't built for them. We were not allowed to come into this building until just before independence," says Wachuka.
Hide Caption
8 of 12