Friends of African Village Libraries' summer reading camps teach students how to read. Through individual tutoring, educational games and activities, elementary school students work on literacy skills, develop their imaginations and learn information about important topics like hygiene.
With one of the lowest literacy levels in the world and a school system that is overcrowded and understaffed, Burkina Faso struggles to teach its children how to read. The problem is most acute at the village level, where nationally low levels of literacy hit bottom. Crowded classrooms and a lack of resources make it difficult for teachers to provide individual attention to students struggling to read. Many remain functionally illiterate even as they advance in school.
FAVL's reading camps help students in small villages learn to read. Students spend a week practicing reading skills that are not sufficiently nurtured at school, engaging in educational activities and playing games that reinforce new reading skills.
FAVL's reading camps will help 25 kids at each of our 12 libraries in Burkina (300 students in total) learn to read, giving them the skills and confidence in their academic abilities that they will need to pass their middle school entrance examinations and continue their education to a higher level.