A total of 33 schools and 3 community libraries in Kisii County are set to benefit from a donation of 126,000 books from donors in the state of Colorado, USA.
Non-governmental Organization Scope International partnered with the donors to deliver the ECDE and Junior school English story books.
During a ceremony to flag off the transportation of the books graced by Governor James Ongwae and Senator Janet Ongera (Nominated), Scope International Chief Executive Officer Lilian Kwamboka said her organization was determined to foster a reading culture in the region among school-going children.
“We want to encourage our children to learn to appreciate the reading of books, which will boost their English comprehension, reading and writing skills,” said Ms Kwamboka.
The NGO chief appealed to donors to come on board and boost her organization’s efforts to improve the reading abilities of children in the region’s schools.
“We still need to equip our region’s libraries and ECD departments with sufficient reading materials so that our children can be empowered to expand their language skills,” she said.
Ongwae commended the people of Colorado, USA, for their donation, saying it would go a long way in boosting the county’s efforts to stock its libraries.
“We are grateful that our brothers and sisters in Colorado have expressed their genuine concern for our desire to empower our children with reading materials through this donation. This will go a long way in boosting our efforts in that area,” said Governor Ongwae.
Ongera asked teachers to nurture a reading culture in their schools, adding that it would improve their performance in understanding their lessons and also during exams.
“We need to encourage our pupils to read widely so that they vastly improve their ability to comprehend a wide range of topics and subjects. A robust reading culture will be a great boost to their comprehension ability in class lessons and also contribute to improved performance in languages as well as exams in general,” she said.