How Esther Kaguta is changing lives, one book at a time

Esther Kaguta’s greatest childhood memory was being installed as the school prefect in charge of their primary school library.

By extension, donated story books always fell in her arms, growing her love for books, becoming a bookseller and one of the distributors in the country.

She chose to intertwine it with her other passion — psychology.

Her clients are taken aback when they walk into her office, passing rows of neatly arranged and interesting books of all genres, which is part of the Mystic Venus Bookstore she runs.

“Books were a beacon of hope for me. I had those little books that just encouraged me that my story could be bigger than what everyone wants,” Kaguta told the Star.

It is also what pushed her into a journey of self-discovery, which she trickles down to the women across the region through her Nawiri Mentorship programme.

“I want everyone in my circle to understand the power that books hold, including the women who are facing different challenges in their lives,” she adds.

The group mentorship initiative guides participants through a structured approach that combines theory and practices.

Sessions run over several weeks and aim to help participants heal from trauma, build self-confidence and develop emotional resilience.

As part of self-awareness, the women have free access to books for three months, to help them understand themselves better.

“I put a call on Facebook for women interested in being part of this and the number of people who apply is massive. I picked them on the basis of who I felt was going to benefit most from the programme,” she said.

Participants benefit from three individual therapy sessions and physical group sessions on Friday, to share their struggles.

Kaguta underscores the role played by the environment in shaping future experiences.

“Books transform our minds and through ideas we read, our lives are never the same again. This is the kind of knowledge we are exposing women to, especially the ones in hard relationships.”

Most of the participants who attend the book club and therapy sessions are women, which results in transformed societies.

“Seeing them embrace self-care, take breaks, build communities intentionally, create more book labs and create more children book clubs is a significant shift.”

One of her significant wins is the increase in community awareness toward building better health habits.

“The biggest shift that I’ve seen is that more people are aware and have now embraced the reading culture. Seeing them buy more books for their children. That has been the biggest change for me.”