Popular American YouTuber Zack Nelson, who runs the DIY tech JerryRigEverything, is building a multi-million library in Budalangi, Busia County.
Nelson announced in a video that he has been saving the proceeds of his channel towards the project and has so far amassed Ksh.9 million ($75,000).
“Education can solve all of the world’s problems, which is why we have exciting news that part of the 75,000 dollars that you guys have given us by watching our videos is going to be used to build a full-size library in Kenya,” said Nelson, who commands a following of nearly 7.5 million subscribers.
The YouTube star is undertaking the project with his ‘uncle’ Philip, a Kenyan who moved to the United States 15 years ago to pursue his studies.
Philip grew up in Budalangi and was hosted by Nelson’s family upon moving to the States, and says this is their turn to give back to the community.
The facility, which Philip says will be the only library within a 100-mile radius, is set to serve 10 primary schools, 6 high schools and 3 colleges in the area.
Excellent selection of books! Make sure to ship by Wednesday this week so they arrive on time! Any books shipped after that might miss the boat. Literally. https://t.co/Fc81THu67y
— JerryRigEverything (@ZacksJerryRig) September 24, 2022
“Getting the land and building the library is about to cost US $50,000,” Nelson said in the video, adding that the process has been in the works for the past one year.
With the $25,000 left to equip the library with books, the duo says it instead opted to dig a borehole to serve the nearby community with a stable water supply.
“That is also the price of digging an industrial borehole that would also service the entire community. It will have massive water tanks and solar panels at the top and make the library an essential hub for people to come and hang out,” Nelson says.
They have now set up a drive to raise funds as well as physical books from Americans of goodwill towards equipping the library. Their target is 12,000 to 15,00 books, mainly children’s books, novels, encyclopaedias and text books.
“This library will provide an opportunity for kids to start reading and learning about books from the age of two all the way to six. We will have things like nursery rhymes that will help equip the children before they transition to primary school,” Philip notes.
So far, the duo has closed the book donations awaiting shipping and they say the library construction will be done by the end of the year.
Philip adds:
“The idea of a library has been a dream of mine for quite some time now and I’ve had the privilege of having a formal education by being here in America and so with your help, we can turn this around and provide this knowledge to the people in my community.”