Teach 300 Elementary School Children to Read

Thanks to funds from generous donors, we were able to run 7 reading camps at 6 village libraries in Burkina Faso. Twenty-five 4th grade students were invited to each of the camps, which lasted for 6 days. They spent the week working on the alphabet, syllabation and reading activities. They also participated in drawing session, mask making and theater productions. A pre- and post-test was performed at each of the libraries to evaluate each student's reading abilities, and at each camp, all of the kids had advanced to a higher reading level by the end of the camp. The camps were also an opportunity for the librarians to stretch their wings. This year, we decided to have each of the village librarians facilitate the camp at their own library. They were able to build confidence in working with a large group of children and leading activities, as well as learn new activities to organize throughout the rest of the school year.

With donated funds, we were able to provide each child with 2 nutritious daily meals (breakfast and lunch), a camp t-shirt, a notebook, a pen and a pencil. We were also able to provide art supplies like crayons, colored pencils, white paper and poster board for each reading camp. Finally, we were able to purchase a new set of 25 books, which traveled to each of the camps.

Links:

• Get regular updates on our activities on our blog