BOOK DRIVE CAMPAIGN II

The major goal of this project is to set up a Reading Corner for children in an underserved public primary schools to bridge the learning gap by providing access to books that will inspire the children to read, improve their reading skills and develop reading skills that will enable them to succeed in school and life.

The Reading Corners will be set up in Holy Family Catholic Nursery/Primary School, Taraba, in Taraba State with a population of over 462 children. It is a missionary school for underserved children and the school does not have a library or a Reading Corner. 

Research has shown that one of the greatest barriers to quality education is lack of access to educational materials such as textbooks, storybooks and writing materials which leads to children becoming poor readers, likely to be truant from school, and at risk of dropping out of school. This eventually impacts their future because they are not able to maximise their potentials and achieve their dreams in life.

The main objectives of this project include:

1.            To provide 1 bookshelf filled with 165 books (145 Storybooks and 20 textbooks) and plastic tables with chairs to set up a Reading Corner Holy Family Catholic Nursery/Primary School, Taraba, in Taraba State. To work with volunteer Reading Ambassadors that will help the children to learn how to read and increase their reading speed, comprehension, and reading attention span.

3.            To ensure that the children have access to books that will spark their imagination, stimulate curiosity and help them to develop the ability to focus, concentrate on their studies and acquire social and communication skills that will lay the foundation for a successful life.

The project sustainability is based on the following factors;

1.            We have done a pre-project needs assessment and the Reading Corner is urgently needed by the school and there is stakeholder engagement with the management of the school.

2.            The school has already provided a space for the Reading Corner. When the Reading Corner is established it has been agreed that a Reading time will be incorporated in the school timetable and a teacher will be assigned to supervise the children.

3.            Once a week, our Reading Ambassadors will go to the schools and read to and with the children.

4.            The school will give us weekly reports on the usage of the Reading Corners and its impact on the children.

5.            This model is based on our ‘Change Theory’ and this Reading Corner will be the 48th  that we will establish since the 5th of February 2021.  We have used this model to establish 47 Reading Corners in 27 States and Abuja the capital of Nigeria and they are slowly but surely bridging the learning gap in the schools and our Ambassadors are helping to improve the reading skills of the children. The Reading Corner that we are setting up through our Book Drive Campaign addresses the current need of bridging the learning gap that exists in our public/community primary schools where according to World Literacy Foundation; 8 out of 10 Nigerian students in public schools cannot read, write, or communicate effectively in English. Therefore, through the establishment of this Reading Corner, we are encouraging a reading culture among the children, thereby raising a generation of educated young men and women in our rural communities who would have access to opportunities for a better life and a bright future. Although, a small project, it is successfully addressing the major issue of quality education in our public schools which is heavily impacted by lack of access to books.  The Book Drive Campaign is indeed inspired from a place of community needs.

The cost of each Reading Corner is One Hundred and Seventy Thousand Naira(N170,000)

Budget

1. Cost of a Bookshelf – N50,000
2. Cost of 165 Books – N100,000
3. Cost of 4 plastic chairs & a table – N20,000

The total cost of the project is N170,000