TLDB Turkana Literacy & Development Bureau Email us

Turkana Literacy & Development Bureau

Development in Turkana begins with literacy.

TLDB is a community-based NGO in Lodwar, Kenya. Since 1997 we have worked with the Turkana community through functional literacy, peace building and conflict reduction.

Get in touch Our work
Community members holding newly distributed Turkana literacy books at a TLDB literacy day
Literacy day, Turkana

About

A community initiative, rooted in Turkana

TLDB was started in 1997, following consultations between community members, local leaders and institutions operating in Turkana who saw literacy as a need and key to development.

It was registered on 9th September 1999 by the Kenya National NGOs Board under Section 10 of the Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Act, and works from Lodwar town.

TLDB seeks to achieve holistic and sustainable development in Turkana through relevant participatory development approaches, with literacy and education instrumental to that goal. Our work confronts the region's dominant problems: illiteracy, conflict, HIV/AIDS, famine and drought.

  • Founded1997
  • Registered9 September 1999
  • RegistrationNGO Board, Cert. No. OP.218/051/98172/1142
  • BaseLodwar, Turkana County, Kenya

What we do

Literacy and education, development and peace

Two programme areas, carried out with the community rather than for it.

Literacy & Education

Reading, writing and numeracy as the foundation.

  • Adult literacy: reading, writing and numeracy
  • Non-formal and civic education
  • Production of Turkana-language literacy materials
  • The Turkana District Education Database

Development & Peace

Capacity, health and coexistence.

  • Capacity building for communities and self-help groups
  • Functional literacy through income-generating activities
  • HIV/AIDS awareness programmes
  • Peace building and conflict management
  • Coordinating activities of fisher people in the North Rift
Printed Turkana literacy booklets in yellow and blue covers laid out at a TLDB production event
Literacy materials produced by TLDB, ready for distribution

Where we work

Turkana

Turkana County is Kenya's largest and north-westernmost county, in the former Rift Valley Province. The context shapes everything we do.

95%
Live below the poverty line

Relative poverty across the county remains among the highest in Kenya.

89.4
Age dependency ratio

Every working-age adult supports nearly one dependent.

77,000 km²
Kenya's largest county

A vast, arid landscape where services are hard to reach.

Literacy and education are instrumental to holistic, sustainable development in Turkana, achieved through participatory development approaches.

Our literature

Books in the Turkana language

TLDB produces literacy materials in Turkana, so people can learn to read in the language they think in.

Cover of Abiblia, the Bible in Turkana
AbibliaThe Bible
Covers of Yochua and Ngiesio booklets
Yochua & NgiesioBooklets
Spread of the Ngakiro Naajokak booklet
Ngakiro NaajokakBooklet
Cover of the Apudunet booklet
ApudunetBooklet

Titles include Abiblia, Yochua, Ngiesio, Ngakiro Naajokak and Apudunet, used across our literacy classes and community events.

Contact

Work with us

Whether you want to support our projects, volunteer, or learn more about literacy work in Turkana, we would like to hear from you.