PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – The educational NGO, Kids Educational Engagement Project, has announced the launch of a nationwide campaign to encourage reading as a hobby among students in the country.
In a press statement signed by KEEP’s chair of the 2020 National Reading Campaign, Desmond Samuels, the group said the campaign would comprise of a series of programs and activities promoting reading among high school students.
On Thursday, Feb. 6, Education Minister D. Ansu Sonii will formally launch the program at the Lutheran Compound in Sinkor.
The project organizers hope that the campaign will help raise public awareness about “the importance of reading, as well as engage parents, teachers, and communities to become more involved in improving a child’s reading habit and proficiency.â€
Since its establishment in 2014, KEEP has dedicated itself to promoting a culture of reading in Liberian schools through various reading projects and competitions, as well as the provision of books. The group has since established 15 reading rooms in 7 counties – Montserrado, Bong, Grand Gedeh, River Cess, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, and Bomi.
KEEP reports that it has also trained at least 155 teachers in improved methods and strategies of reading. Moreover, the organization says it trained 57 students in computer literacy, in addition to distributing more than 26,000 books to schools, reading clubs, and other organizations around the country.
The group’s executive director, Brenda Moore, is quoted as expressing commitment for increased support in the years ahead.
“We are encouraged by the life-changing impact of our work, and grateful for the support, partnerships, and contributions we have received over the years, all of which keeps us committed to continuing our interventions, by opening at least six new reading rooms in Nimba, Maryland, Montserrado and Bomi Counties, in 2020,†she said.
Moore is also hopeful that more and more parents to utilize her organization’s reading materials and study guides to help their kids develop healthy reading habits, one of the crucial goals of the ongoing campaign.
Featured photo by KEEP
