Using Literature to Disciple the Family Unit: A focus on Children, Parenting & Marriage Books
The story of how CLC Kenya used Christian literature, mentorship, family engagement, and African-centred content to disciple children, parents, and homes across Kenya and Uganda.
Using literature to disciple the family unit
In 2025, CLC Kenya continued developing the Mama Africa Book Box programme as a family-centred Christian literacy initiative serving children, teenagers, parents, and homes. The project, Using Literature to Disciple the Family Unit: A Focus on Children, Parenting & Marriage Books, built on the conviction that books can become more than reading materials; they can become discipleship tools within the home.
Mama Africa Book Box was designed to nurture a love for reading, strengthen literacy, encourage creativity, and instil godly values. Through curated books, reading kits, mentorship sessions, digital engagement, and family programmes, children were helped to encounter stories that speak to their faith, culture, imagination, and everyday life.
As the programme grew, one lesson became increasingly clear: when parents are equipped, children are strengthened. The project therefore expanded beyond children’s books alone to include parental mentorship, family engagement, and resources that support stronger homes. The goal was not only to raise readers, but to help disciple whole families.
From book box to family altar
In 2025, Mama Africa Book Box deepened its ministry by connecting reading with family conversations, parental involvement, character formation, talent development, and biblical values. The work reached children in Kenya and Uganda while laying foundations for wider African engagement.
Through Christian literature, we saw homes become reading spaces, children become creators, and parents become partners in the discipleship journey.
2025 Impact at a Glance
What we set out to accomplish
Access to Christian Books
We set out to equip children and teenagers across Kenya and Uganda with access to quality, curated books that foster literacy, critical thinking, and faith-based values, especially where access to such materials is limited.
Family Engagement
We aimed to strengthen the family unit by mentoring parents and encouraging homes to become more intentional spaces for reading, conversation, spiritual formation, and holistic growth.
Talent Development
We sought to empower children to develop and showcase talents such as writing, illustrating, storytelling, cooking, worship, and other creative arts for God’s Kingdom.
Milestones Reached
THF support enabled Mama Africa Book Box to make significant progress in developing, producing, and distributing culturally relevant Christian children’s content for families in Kenya and Uganda.
Illustrators and creatives were commissioned to develop artwork for 40 Christian children’s books, expanding the MABB catalogue of African-authored stories that reflect local culture, faith, and values. Authors and creatives were also compensated through royalties, strengthening sustainable Christian publishing in Africa.
MABB produced and packaged high-quality reading resources, including books, toys, merchandise, and family engagement materials. These kits helped transform home reading into a joyful, shared experience rather than a lonely assignment from school. In other words, books found friends at home.
How literature became a discipleship pathway
Content Development & Procurement
The project supported the commissioning of illustrators, development of culturally relevant African Christian children’s stories, and payment of author and creative royalties. This strengthened the supply of faith-based content created from within the African context.
Production & Packaging
Books, creative toys, merchandise, and family engagement materials were produced and packaged into reading kits that made the monthly reading experience attractive, interactive, and useful for children and families.
Children’s Shows
The children’s show continued with a revised structure. Rather than forcing a weekly rhythm that the team could not sustain well, the programme adjusted to two sessions per month: one virtual and one convened.
Parent Mentorship
Monthly parental mentorship sessions were introduced to help parents create a more conducive environment for reading, character formation, and family discipleship. Participation was meaningful, though not yet as broad as originally hoped.
Holiday Programmes
Two holiday mentorship events were completed in 2025, focusing on character formation, life skills, biblical values, creativity, and confidence. Additional sessions were scheduled for 2026.
Digital Foundations
The programme laid groundwork for animation and digital storytelling through the purchase of an entry-level animation computer. This positioned MABB to bring African-centred Christian content into the digital spaces where children increasingly learn and interact.
The talent development objective was exceeded
One of the most encouraging outcomes was the growth in children’s talent development. The programme empowered over 160 children, exceeding the goal of 100 children and representing more than a three-fold increase from 2024.
Children were encouraged through author showcases, illustration and storytelling sessions, practical life-skills activities, and creative platforms. The result was not merely children who read books, but children who began to see themselves as writers, illustrators, storytellers, chefs, worshippers, and contributors.
The numbers tell part of the story
Children & Families
The project directly impacted an estimated 6,000 people, including children, parents, families, programme participants, online readers, facilitators, and communities connected to Mama Africa Book Box in Kenya and Uganda.
Online Reading Community
The community library for Africa was successfully established at mabb.kenyaclc.org. Through this platform, the Read With Me programme was launched and scaled, reaching communities across seven African countries.
Children’s Creativity
More than 160 children were empowered through creative activities, including writing, storytelling, illustration, and practical life-skills. The programme continued to show that children are not only readers of stories, but potential authors of them.
MABB Online became one of the year’s strongest encouragements
One unexpected area of breakthrough was MABB Online, our weekly digital reading sessions. Initially introduced as a trial of the weekly shows, MABB Online emerged as one of the programme’s success stories.
While convened reading clubs sometimes face logistical and attendance limitations, the digital sessions drew a consistently strong number of children. This confirmed the effectiveness of online platforms in reaching and discipling children, especially when families are spread across different locations.
The online library and digital reading sessions have now become a central part of the future vision. They provide a scalable way to disciple children through books, stories, guided reading, and community engagement without being limited by geography.
A wider African table
The digital work extended the reach of Mama Africa Book Box beyond one city or one country. Through the online platform, children and families across seven African countries were able to connect with reading resources and programme information.
The table is getting longer, and by God’s grace, there is still room for many more little readers, writers, and Kingdom dreamers.
Challenges that shaped our learning
Children’s Show Capacity
The weekly children’s show did not scale as initially anticipated because consistent production required more manpower than expected. The programme adjusted to two shows per month while laying groundwork for future weekly programming.
Parent Participation
Parental participation was more challenging than expected. Many parents faced time constraints and prioritised their children’s involvement over their own. In 2026, the programme will use shorter, more flexible formats to improve engagement.
Logistics & Partnerships
A planned Uganda mentorship event with Kabubbu Development Project was postponed to 2026 due to logistics. The expected partnership with Scripture Union of Uganda also did not materialise in 2025 because of organisational restructuring on their side.
Comparing the plan with the actual results
Access to Books Across Kenya and Uganda
This objective was approximately 50% achieved by the reporting period. Significant groundwork was completed through content development, resource preparation, and initial distribution, positioning the programme for accelerated impact in 2026.
Parent Mentorship and Family Engagement
This objective was not fully achieved. Initial mentorship structures were established and some parents engaged meaningfully, but overall participation was lower than expected because many parents had competing time demands.
Affordable and Subsidised Access
This objective was fully achieved with contextual adaptations. The programme subsidised book boxes for vulnerable and low-income families while maintaining affordable membership rates without compromising content quality.
Children’s Talent Development
This objective was exceeded. More than 160 children were empowered through writing, illustration, storytelling, author showcases, and practical life-skills activities.
Logistics and Outreach
The ministry van objective was not achieved during the project period. However, the programme used alternative and cost-effective means, including leasing vehicles for major outreaches.
Recipient Testimony
“Joining Mama Africa Book Box has truly enriched our family's reading life. The diversity of books has sparked incredible conversations, and the kids love the monthly surprises! Our kids also journal every night and morning.”The Odhiambos Family — Nicholas & Mercy, Nairobi, parents to Bernice & Adorah
Reading became a gateway to adventure and understanding
Another family described Mama Africa Book Box as more than a service. To them, it became a gateway to exciting adventures and cultural understanding for their children. This testimony captured the heart of the programme beautifully: a book box may arrive at the door, but what enters the home is far more than paper and ink.
Through the books, children discovered stories, values, cultures, conversations, and imagination. Through the mentorship, they found encouragement. Through the family engagement, parents found fresh opportunities to walk with their children in reading and faith.
Books are doing quiet work
The fruit of Christian literature is not always loud at first. Sometimes it begins as a child asking a question, a parent reading one more page, a journal entry before bedtime, or a family conversation that would not have happened without the story.
We saw God open doors and establish the work
As CLC Kenya, we clearly witnessed God’s hand throughout this initiative. Receiving direct support from THF for the third time in seven years was a strong affirmation and encouragement that we are stewarding this work as God leads.
We also saw God move within our own team. Two new project staff members unexpectedly discovered a deeper sense of calling and purpose through the responsibilities assigned to them. This was not planned, but it was a beautiful reminder that while we serve children and families, God is also shaping the servants.
The opportunity to serve children through this programme has strengthened our conviction that this is a 10–15 year generational investment. We are trusting God that children raised with books, faith, mentorship, and family engagement will grow into thoughtful parents, leaders, pastors, authors, teachers, and faithful disciples.
God opened timely doors
As a result of progress made through this and previous THF-supported projects, we have seen a notable shift in visibility and credibility. Increasingly, families, churches, and organisations are approaching us for collaboration rather than us always seeking opportunities.
This is a timely provision, especially with limited manpower, and a clear sign of God establishing the work of our hands.
Completing remaining goals and strengthening the model
Flexible Parent Engagement
In the next phase, parental mentorship will be restructured into shorter and more flexible formats that better fit parents’ schedules while still strengthening the home as a discipleship environment.
Partnership Readiness
We will prioritise earlier confirmation of strategic partnerships and build in contingency timelines for cross-border work, especially for Uganda and other regional opportunities.
Digital Storytelling
The groundwork for animation and digital storytelling will be strengthened so that African-centred Christian stories can reach children in modern learning spaces with creativity and biblical truth.
We thank God for every child, parent, family, author, and partner reached in 2025.
Through Christian literature, mentorship, digital reading, family engagement, and African-authored stories, Mama Africa Book Box continued planting seeds of faith, literacy, creativity, and godly character. We believe these seeds will grow into a legacy that strengthens homes, churches, communities, and the next generation for the glory of God.
Find All Annual Donor Reports
Forever Grateful
Subscribe for wholesome content!
Our mission statement of purpose is, “to honour God by making Christian literature & resources available & accessible to all nations, to help people come to faith and maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Useful Links
Subscribe Now
Don’t miss our future updates! Get Subscribed Today!
