Zack Nelson, the popular American YouTuber who runs the DIY tech JerryRigEverything, is building a multi-million library in Budalangi, Busia County.
Nelson revealed in a video that he has been putting aside Ksh.9 million ($75,000) from the proceeds of his YouTube channel for the project.
“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 sensation is working on the project with his ‘uncle’ Philip, a Kenyan who moved to the United States 15 years ago to study.
Philip grew up in Budalangi and was hosted by Nelson’s family when he moved to the United States, and he believes it is now their turn to give back to the community.
The library, which Philip claims will be the only one within a 100-mile radius, will serve ten primary schools, six high schools, and three colleges in the area.
“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 $25,000 left over to stock the library, the duo says they chose to dig a borehole to provide a reliable water supply to the surrounding community.
“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 launched a campaign to collect funds as well as physical books from Americans of goodwill in order to equip the library. Their goal is to collect 12,000 to 15,000 books, primarily children’s books, novels, encyclopedias, and textbooks.
“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.
“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,” he added.
