By Ibraheem Solaudeen.
The 2019 World Literacy Foundation Youth Ambassador, Taibat Hussain, in partnership with the Rising Child Foundation has set up a mini library for children in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
According to Hussain, who’s a thoroughbred SDGs advocate and Development Economics Student at SOAS, London, the library will go a long way to support the children’s learning and encourage them to #ReadADay.
She hinged her motivation on the World Bank’s assertion that 60% of primary school children in developing countries fail to achieve minimum proficiency in reading, writing, and basic math.
“Imagine not being able to read a prescription, vote in an election, take the right bus, or send a text message to tell a loved one that you are okay because you are not able to read”, she queried.
Teaming up with the Home Street Kids Initiative, HSKI, which runs a school for street children, Hussain noted that the library would provide an avenue for monthly storytelling sessions where kids would read the story books and discuss the lessons learnt.
“An interesting fact about the mini library is that, it will be managed by the pupils under the supervision of their teachers to equip them with early leadership skills and teach them the basics of management.
“It is our hope at Rising Child Foundation to see more young people discover the joy of reading and support literacy activities in the community.
“A world where everyone is functionally literate is a better world”, she said.
