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NCCU Football Player And His Family Start a Book Drive

Landon Bost

Raleigh, NC – Jessie Malit, a North Carolina Central University Football defensive end, and his family started a book drive in Charlotte and Raleigh to create a library in their home village in Kenya.

Malit, a recent transfer from N.C. State, his mother Daisy Malit, and cousin, Jessica Msambichaka, who is a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, are the main organizers for the drive.

“She came here when she was 21 and had me,” Malit said about his mother. “So, we’ve always been big on trying to help kids who don’t have as much particularly. And we thought about this plan and were like, ‘Hey! Let’s do a book drive.’ … In our language, Dholuo, there’s this word ‘Dala’ which means home. So, in Dala, we have our own tribe. And basically, our whole main goal is to build a library there and gets books donated.” 

bookHome for the Malit’s is Kendu Bay, a rural town in southwestern Kenya near Lake Victoria. The family has already started raising money for the library building, which would be located on a family-owned plot of land in Kendu Bay.  

Jessie Malit (left) and Daisy Malit (right). Photo courtesy of Jessie Malit.

“The big thing is about the books,” Malit said. “We were really trying to see if we could raise enough books for a library and if we could be able to raise enough money for (the library).

In their early stages, the family has already surpassed the original bar they set. 

“We started off with 200, but we already reached that goal” Malit said, “So I think, because I’m getting more on a bigger platform and I’ve put it more on social media, our goal now is 1,000 books.” 

Jessie believes that anyone can make a positive impact regardless of their life circumstances. 

The Malit’s and Msambichaka are accepting any book in good condition. A P.O. Box for the drive should be created soon. However, you can reach Jessie on Instagram or Twitter if you want to donate.