Resurge Children East Africa (RCEA) invites partners and sponsors to support the Each Every Child Books Creation event that will take place in Kisumu, Kenya, on December 18, 2025.
The initiative is aimed at developing engaging, culturally relevant, and openly licensed storybooks for children across Kenya and Africa.
It brings together volunteer writers, illustrators, and designers to create high-quality early literacy storybooks that can be freely translated, adapted, and shared.
Each event costs $5,600, enabling the production of at least ten new storybooks, the printing and distribution of 200 copies to children from low-income families, and the publication of all titles online for free global access.
“Our vision is simple yet ambitious: to ensure that every child in Kenya owns at least 100 books by the end of Grade Three,” RCEA founder and CEO Lameck Odero said. “By joining us as a sponsor or partner, you will help remove barriers to literacy and give thousands of children the opportunity to thrive in education and in life.”
Although many children’s books exist, they remain out of reach for most children due to high costs and limited availability in libraries. Without intervention, these barriers will continue to deny millions of children the strong literacy foundations they need to thrive in education and in life.
The volunteer teams collaboratively develop engaging, culturally relevant storybooks for early readers. All books will be openly licensed and made available in both print and digital formats, ensuring long-term and widespread access.
Statement of need
Reading underpins all other learning. To build strong foundations, children need regular access to books, both at school and at home. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), children who grow up in households with even a modest number of books tend to achieve significantly higher levels of education, regardless of socio-economic background.
In Kenya, despite considerable progress in education, book ownership remains worryingly low. A 2023 study by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) found that in Kisumu County, only 13% of households owned even a single children’s storybook.
Resurge Children East Africa is committed to closing this gap.
“The books we create will be a gift to millions of children across Kenya and beyond,” Odere added. “They will be culturally relevant, inclusive, and designed to strengthen foundational reading skills. All titles will be published on digital platforms with open access for global use, while printed copies will be distributed to children in our partner schools across the country.”
Programme description
The Every Child Books Creation Day is a unique model that replaces slow and expensive publishing processes with a fast and impactful approach, producing ten fully illustrated storybooks in just one 12-hour day.
Each Every Child Books Creation Day brings together volunteer teams of creative professionals who work collaboratively to develop new African picture books and readers:
- Typically, each event has 10 teams.
- Every team includes a writer, an illustrator, and a designer, carefully matched to ensure quality and creativity.
- Each team completes an entire book – from concept to final design – within 12 hours.
- We provide expert editors, technical support, a comfortable venue, and meals, ensuring that every team has what they need to succeed.
Resurge Children East Africa, founded in 2015, is a non-governmental organisation based in Kisumu, Kenya. It strives to provide every child and young person with access to quality education and healthcare by improving teacher expertise, creating better learning conditions, offering scholarships to exceptional, disadvantaged university students, and expanding access to critical surgical care helping every child and young person reach their potential, live healthy lives, and contribute to the world.
For more information about the event and how you can support it , contact Lameck Odero at lameckodero@resurgchildren.org or visit the official website www.resurgchildren.org.
