BY LEULSEGED WORKU
We are found in the era where digital technology has controlled the mind and the eyes of this generation. In places where the internet is wide spread and digital technology is available, everyone prefers to spend his/her time on the mini screen. With all its benefits, the digital technology has also its own side effects; this is especially true on children.
Following their curious nature to know and experience everything, children are adventurers to new technologies. For this reason, their mind will become more and more interested with the mobile technology or the tablets they have already in their hands; and they have little or no desire to read books with hardcovers.
Understanding the serious challenges of emerging technologies on children, several individuals and organizations are doing their level best to divert children’s attention from mainstream and social media to books. ‘Ethiopia Reads’ is among these organizations that are working aggressively to promote the culture of reading among children. Ethiopia Reads is a non-profitable non-governmental organization that is founded with the vision of enabling children to develop their physical and spiritual entity through reading.
It is obvious that a child with a better reading skill has a better outlook on the world he/she is living in. Any child that reads better than his/her friends has a better dimension in the world he/she is living in. In this regard, Ethiopia Reads is working aggressively to enable children to read more; and to know the world around them. Using all the available means, the organization had been providing mobile and no-mobile reading services to children in towns and remote areas.
Recently, the Organization held its 3rd Annual Children’s Reading Conference. As it was indicated on the Conference, since its establishment, Ethiopia Reads has been executing various activities to promote reading culture among children by providing reading services and books to children in remote areas. Using horses and donkeys, the organization is enabling several children to have access to books for free. This service includes provision of books to those internally displaced children.As indicated by Ethiopia Reads Country Director, Yemsrach Worku, there is no question about the power of reading in terms of changing the life of every citizen. In this regard, helping and guiding children to read books has a significant role. “Ethiopia Reads supports children’s literacy through strategies that leverage the power of integrated, continuous programming. We build libraries and train the teachers and librarians. We invest in quality books and language-appropriate materials for our children. Among international agencies, ER is the most complete provider of literacy programming in the country of Ethiopia.”
Ethiopia Reads together with its partners is working aggressively to support children by providing books and other necessary facilities. Starting from the time the organization launched its program, it has been providing community based mobile libraries to children. This library service includes remote places in Southern Nation Nationalities and Peoples’ of Ethiopia and Oromia states. What is more, as part of its vision to produce reader children all over the country, Ethiopia Reads has organized libraries in different primary schools. Besides supporting children with books and libraries, the Organization is also providing training to librarians and other stakeholders.
Founded in 1998, Ethiopia Reads has been a leader in building youth and children’s literacy across Ethiopia. The first library was established in 2003, and since that time the Organization has built several libraries spanning every state of the country, shipping more than a quarter million books and serving hundreds and thousands of children per year. Ethiopia Reads supplies books, library furniture, and offers trainings, mentoring and networking services to library staff – most of them work in school-based environments. What is more, as part of its vision to address book shortages in some schools, Ethiopia Reads donated not less than four hundred thousand books, that it collected from several sources, to different libraries that are found in the country.
Speaking at the event, Director General of the National Archives and Library Agency, Yikunoamlak Mezgebu, said that supporting children to read and providing them all opportunities to love books should be the responsibility of every citizen. “Whenever we support children to have a special love for books, we are helping the whole nation. Children and winds have something that bears a resemblance to. They are free and they do not know where to go. Proper care of children and guiding them to the right direction is not only enabling them to decide about their future; it also helps the family and the nation to have a better future. In this regard, nurturing children with the culture of reading books has a key role at individual as well as national level.”
According to him, Ethiopia Reads is playing its role in this regard. However, having a closer look at what children are reading should be the duty and responsibility of parents, teachers and librarians. As a country with its own unique culture and alphabets, Ethiopian children need to be cultured to know more about their identity. While pushing them to know about the world around them with imported children books, a closer monitor of the content of the books should be a matter that needs everyone’s due attention from every direction. The undesirable impact of social media and mainstream media on children in terms of stealing the time and corrupting the identity of children is too strong. In this regard, helping children with proper books is one way to address the challenge.
In Ethiopia, there is currently broad-based cooperation across multiple sectors. Ethiopia Reads was one of the original pioneers drawing attention to the issue of literacy, working with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, National Archives and Library of Ethiopia, embassies and cultural attaches in Addis Ababa, as well as international NGOs like Save the Children. This cross-sector coalition has promoted literacy through book fairs, public readings and other symposia. Ethiopia Reads continues to work with these partners and their staff members remain very publicly engaged, regularly participating in all of these events.
Including Director-General of the National Archives and Library Agency of Ethiopia, and the Ministry of Education, the conference was attended by authors of children’s books, experts, and invited guests
BY LEULSEGED WORKU
The Ethiopian Herald 25 September 2022
