‘Read Books. Dream Big!’ by Room to Read: Promoting the habit of reading
View(s):On behalf of International Literacy Day this year, Room to Read Sri Lanka launched a campaign titled ‘Read Books. Dream Big!’ in various parts of the country.
This campaign includes a series of read-aloud sessions for students in non-Room to Read schools, reading books published by Room to Read.
These sessions will be carried out in schools with under 75 children and in larger schools in the Central and North Western provinces throughout August and September.
Room to Read will also educate teachers and parents in this campaign about the importance of helping children instill a habit of reading from an early age, how to conduct effective reading exercises for children and hand-over books to schools which do not have a school library so far, to develop a library on their own and help children continue to read even after the campaign.
Room to Read is a global nonprofit organisation that helps to transform the lives of millions of children around the world through literacy and gender equality. It envisions a world in which all children can pursue a quality education that prepares them to lead fulfilled lives, making positive change in their families, communities and the world. The organisation achieves this goal by working together with Sri Lanka’s Education Ministry, partner organisations, parents and communities to deliver positive outcomes for children at scale.
Room to Read first launched its literacy programme in Sri Lanka in 2005, one year earlier than planned in response to the devastating 2004 tsunami. There onwards, they expanded the programme to facilitate children in seven of the country’s nine provinces. Since then, it had seen significant success in expanding the accessibility of quality education, to more than a million children and youth across the country. Room to Read’s innovative literacy programme ensures that primary schools had libraries filled with books in children’s local languages, and teachers and librarians trained on how to engage a classroom of eager, young learners.
Furthermore, to address a gap of not having sufficient children’s books in developing countries such as Sri Lanka, Room to Read published children’s books in local languages, involving local writers and illustrators to help children learn their mother tongue faster with culturally relevant stories, inculcating a lifelong habit of reading among primary grade children and fostering a local publishing industry.
Speaking about the campaign launched for the first time in line with the International Literacy Day, Room to Read Sri Lanka’s Country Director Shevanthi Jayasuriyasaid: “Sri Lanka’s education is at a critical juncture with schools reopening after long periods of closures from the recent past. There is no better time to promote a habit of reading than now among primary grade children. Early reading ignites creativity, sparks curiosity, and stimulates the imagination in young children. Teaching your children to read at an early age can help them advance throughout many different aspects of their lives and prepare them for a competitive future.”
So far, this campaign has reached out to more than 500 students in Central, North Western and Western provinces and will continue till end of this month. The campaign would also reach out to children in Colombo as Room to Read partners with the Colombo Public Library to conduct a read-aloud session once a month from August to December and by reaching out to other schools such as VisakhaVidyalaya. Speaking further about the campaign, Room to Read’s Literacy Director Kandiah Pathmananthan said “This campaign is centered on promoting a habit of reading and reading development skills among primary grade children. Our central focus in this campaign is to reach out to children in non-Room to Read schools in communities we already work in, so we get to articulate the importance of a reading habit to a new group of children. Developing a lifelong interest in reading help children progress in their education and shape their writing and speaking skills along with the ability to think critically. Room to Read’s books will further support them to reach this goal.”
Earlier this year, Room to Read Sri Lanka also partnered with the Sunday Times’ children’s paper—the Funday Times—to demonstrate a series of reading development tips to help parents and educators on how to conduct reading exercises with children effectively, so they would continue to develop a habit and love of reading.
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