In a country like Nigeria where the number of families living in poverty is on the rise, it’s alarming to note that millions of children from these disadvantaged households do not have access to the reading books they need, schools are usually expected to serve as complementary repositories of books for children to draw from, however in majority of the public primary schools in Nigeria, it’s hard to find any book library. These have greatly contributed to the decline in reading, learning and literacy skills of millions of school children in Nigeria.
In an effort to address this challenge, award winning artist Lami Phillips, today announces her collaboration with AYECI Africa to help increase the literacy skills and habits of reading among millions of primary school children in need by providing as many reading books as possible to as many public primary schools across Nigeria.
At the heart of this partnership is a shared vision- “Until Every Child can Read”
The vision set out today represents the next phase of a visionary literacy campaign “1Million Gift of Literacy” first launched by AYECI Africa in September 2014. Lami Phillip’s partnership with AYECI Africa will extend the scope of the #1MGiftoLiteracy model by setting up at least 10 libraries in public primary schools across the country by the end of 2016.
In a statement issued during the partnership sign off, Lami Phillips said:
“If a child does not learn to read, the consequences can be nothing short of devastating, holding them back for the rest of their lives. I am absolutely determined and would stop at nothing until every child, no matter where they come from or what school they attend, learns to read and to read well too- given them the best opportunity to get on in life That’s why I am excited to team up with AYECI Africa on this audacious journey of ensuring every child gets access to the books they need and learns to read.”
Learning to read is critical to a child’s success – both in school and in life. But a child without access to books won’t have the chance to become an engaged and capable reader and leader.
The social problems of illiteracy affect every one of us, but these are problems we can solve. – Together we can end illiteracy and give all children the chance to become successful readers for life. Said, Ifeoma Adibe-Chukwuka, ED AYECI Africa.
Issuing a rallying call to leading book publishers, private schools, corporate organization and other well-meaning individuals and celebrities to join forces in a bid to ensure success of the campaign, Lami added; “We don’t just want to fight illiteracy – we want to end it. By working together, we can and will create a generation of lifelong readers and achievers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment