Pustaka to distribute Reading Seeds kits to mothers in Oya, Mukah

KUCHING: Pustaka Negeri Sarawak in collaboration with the Ministry of Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development, State Health Department and Sarawak General Hospital will hand over about 100 Reading Seeds kits to mothers on Nov 28 at Kuala Oya Health Clinic at 11am and later at Mukah Hospital.

The handing-over ceremony will be officiated at by the Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah the Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development who is Dalat assemblywoman.

Reading plays an important part of lifelong learning and this necessary skill should be developed as soon as a child is born. Reading Seeds is a literacy programme for children together with their parents, in which the passion for literacy is being developed during the critical time in the development of their lifelong literacy.

The more children read, the more things they will know and the more confidence they will gain. When children develop the passion for reading from young, as they grow, they become more motivated to continue reading, moulding them as independent learners in their lifelong learning process.

The findings from an article published in “Child Language Teaching and Therapy, December 11, 2013” highlight the potential of reading and talking to infants, are not just for language and literacy development but also for other aspects of cognitive development.

The Reading Seeds programme is a continuation of the Born To Read Programme initiated and organised by Pustaka Negeri Sarawak since 2004 aimed at promoting early literacy in a child’s growth and development. The programme ensures that every baby born in government hospitals/ Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak shall be given a Reading Seeds kit upon discharge. The Reading Seeds Kit contains specially designed baby books with reading manual for the parents and information/ directories on nearby libraries where parents can get support or assistance and register as members, when necessary.

The books for the kits were written by volunteers of this programme- Angeline Lim Sueh Hong, an illustrator, Chai Yang Fung, a graphic designer and Suminah Samsolmoharip, a teacher at Kolej Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah Kuching.

Pustaka will conduct workshops for parents on how to conduct reading sessions with their babies and also for the nurses at the maternity wards/ clinics on the implementation of the programme. The progress and effectiveness of this programme will be evaluated throughout the year.

The first handover of Reading Seeds Kit ceremony was held at the Sarawak General Hospital on October 23.

Interested individuals who require for more information, can contact Izaruddin Moss/ Ainie Umairah Lee at 082442000 connection 319/241 or email izaruddin@sarawak.gov. my/ leemc2@sarawak.gov.my.