Read Aloud initiative reaches 50 000 learners
The Gaborone Book Festival ( GBF) recently held the Read Aloud Week. The event was held over a week ( February 2nd11th), and was marked with a number of activities geared towards Primary School learners. All in all, the trust read aloud to 50, 536 learners from 70 schools in 28 locations, and tapped on the services of 88 passionate volunteers.
According to organizers in a press release, the central theme for the week’s stories was conservation and highlighted the importance of protecting rhinos and the role of vultures in the eco system. Another story also centered around Botho which is one of the pillars of the Setswana culture.
The ( GBF) commemorates the World Read Aloud Day annually but this year, they decided to extend the 2022 activations into a week in order to reach as many learners as possible.
Speaking about the event, Co- Founder of ( GBF) and also the School Outreach Programme Director, Keikantse Phele noted that the event is a fun- filled yet needed activity that promotes cognitive skills in children and has a foundational impact on their learning, listening, and reading skills. As such, this is one of their flagship activities held annually though it has previously been affected by the Covid- 19 pandemic.
“The read- aloud activation has grown exponentially, and our objective is to stay close to the schools we read at this year and go back to them at least once a term for more impact. This type of approach will ensure consistency and help us plant a seed of reading firmly as we intend to. There is a great reception for this programme in our public primary schools. We also need financial partners who can help us achieve this needed intervention,” said Phele.
The GBF 2022 Read Aloud Week was powered by GBF long- term partners IDM, as well as local children book author Bontekanye Botumile who contributed two stories for lower and upper primary learners whilst Mmapula Morakaladi contributed the story read to middle primary learners. Dr. Naledi Kgolo provided a translation of some of the stories into Setswana.
The GBF Read- Aloud activation was launched in February 2018 and GBF read aloud to 800 students collectively in 2 districts. In 2019, the activations reached 7500 learners in Gaborone and surrounding areas. In 2020, 17 000 learners were reached across 5 districts in Botswana in one day. In 2021, due to COVID- 19 restrictions, the physical read- aloud was canceled, however, GBF used various digital platforms to read aloud to children.