In the eyes of every child are dreams untold and visions to behold. The joy of hearing children mutter their first words never leaves the hearts of parents. But how greater that joy would be if most of the children move on to acquire the ability to read and write. Sahara Group through the vehicle of Sahara Foundation has at the heart of its intervention activities the desire to give children platforms to experience the joy of reading and writing their way to various achievements in life.
In its bid to align with initiatives aimed at addressing the increasing rate of adult illiterates as well as out-of-school children in Nigeria, Sahara Foundation has invested in several partnerships and staff volunteer initiatives to drive well thought-out initiatives to help boost the literacy level in Nigeria.
Late last year, Sahara Foundation held the maiden edition of the ‘Read to Me’ School Project in in Lagos and Onne, Rivers State respectively. This initiative seeks to encourage reading for knowledge and leisure, improve the vocabulary of beneficiaries and encourage individual reading through distribution of free story books to beneficiaries. It involved a direct engagement between volunteers (staff members) and beneficiaries (pupils). Volunteers had an interactive session with the pupils through reading and pronunciation activities. The initiative also provided an opportunity for donation of story books to help cultivate the habit of reading in the pupils and also give them the opportunity to learn new words, boost their vocabulary and pronunciation in a fun and interactive way.
In the bid to promote capacity building and education, the foundation aims at achieving: an increase in school enrolment rates, improved nutritional status of the average school child, improved performance of the school child and alleviation of short-term hunger. This increases attention and concentration span, motivation for children to attend school and motivation for parents to enroll their children in school to raise an army of educated future leaders.
Sahara Foundation through its initiatives and partnerships seeks the development of young minds to foster a collaborative/team spirit amongst the youth, improve their problem solving technique, recognize natural talents and place the power to control their future in their own hands. This serves as a solid foundation for driving experiential learning opportunities that focus on the development and nurturing of entrepreneurial skills amongst the youth.
Now, the stage is set for the emergence of rocket scientists and Nobel laureates from hitherto unsung children. It all starts by opening the minds of children through reading to them and encouraging them to read. For Sahara Foundation, this has become a way of life.
The ‘Read to Me’ project was originally designed for 1,000 pupils in two schools in Lagos and Onne, but the project was eventually carried out in 6 primary schools reaching out to 1,100 pupils.
The schools covered were Federal Housing Estate Primary School, Lagos; Awoyaya Primary School, Lagos; Victoria Island Primary School, Lagos; Ansa-Udeen Primary School, Lagos; Central Primary School, Onne; and Model Primary School, Onne.
The ‘Read To Me’ project is one of the many initiatives Sahara Foundation hopes will inspire more efforts at enhancing the literacy level in Nigeria and ultimately, bring energy to the lives of the future leaders of tomorrow.