Rebecca Foundation launches project To inculcate culture of reading in children

The Rebecca Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has launched a project to inculcate the culture of reading in children in support of efforts to build a highly literate society.

The project, named: “Learning to read, reading to learn”, is expected to roll out school and child-friendly initiatives that will help children learn how to read.

It is also to help inculcate and build the culture of reading in schoolchildren.

Launching the project in Accra yesterday, October 24, 2018, the First Lady and Executive Director of the foundation, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, said as part of the project, the foundation would build a number of libraries nationwide.
“We have already started the first one i


In the Bia West District and the second will start soon. Of course, we can only do this with the support of donors and we, therefore, appeal to interested donors to support the projec, which is in the national interest,” she said.

She announced that as part of the initiative, the foundation would start airing a reading programme on television, starting from Saturday, October 27.

She said the television programme would be a weekly reading engagement and interaction between some adults and some children to expose the children to the works of Ghanaian writers.

Why the project

Mrs Akufo-Addo complained about the fact some studies had shown that many pupils in Ghana could not read nor write English or any Ghanaian language and described the situation as unacceptable.

She said a high national literacy level was critical to socio-economic and human resource development and called on all stakeholders to have all hands on deck to scale-up literacy levels in the country.

Mrs Akufo-Addo said literacy went beyond just the ability to read and write and included the ability to understand and apply the information acquired for self improvement.

Mrs Akufo-Addo said the foundation, which prioritises the development of women and children in particular, chose to implement the project because, despite the incredible benefits of reading and writing, many Ghanaian children lacked the ability to do so.

Low literacy level

She said the solution to the low literacy level was to start by building the culture of reading in children, the future leaders of the country.

She encouraged parents and guardians to establish a culture of reading with their children at home to support ongoing national efforts and also called on children to build the habit of reading a book a day, as well as learning a new word or idea a day.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Education, Mr Mattew Opoku Prempeh, said the ministry was excited about the initiative and pledged the government’s support to its implementation, as well as other similar initiatives by well-meaning Ghanaians and foreign partners.

He said the ministry was currently pursuing educational reforms at the pre-tertiary level to inculcate some critical skills required by the country for development and mentioned them as reading, writing, arithmetic and critical thinking.

Writer’s email Doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh