Worldreader, an international non-profit organisation organised a round table today in Nairobi with a mission to support vulnerable and underserved communities with digital reading solutions and acceleration that helps improve learning outcomes, workforce readiness, and gender equity.
During a media roundtable engagement with Joan Mwachi, Worldreader’s Regional Director for East Africa, she added that across the continent the fundamental foundation of reading is reflected strongly in the early grades, yet proficiency is not achieved at benchmark.
‘We acknowledge that reading stories with and to children is a fairly new concept in our culture, but the benefits far outweigh the challenges in a few years to come when young ones enroll into institutions for formal learning. Worldreader is working with partners to build that curiosity and interest so that reading is incorporated as a way of life,” Mwachi observed.
She further insisted that reading cuts across all sectors and needs to be appreciated as a lifelong activity confirming that 50 per cent of students in class 3 cannot read for comprehension citing poverty as the key hindrance to the reading culture amongst early learners.
This is consistent with the World Bank report indicating that 57% of children in low and middle income countries cannot reach a benchmark by the age of 10 years. The Director said that just like with any other practice, the more reading is done, the better one gets at it and the more one’s mind opens up to possibilities.
Austin Okoth, Programs Manager Worldreader East Africa states that the organisation targets children of 3 to 8 years old. It encourages reading at home, library and school with community level digital engagement. The organisation has created a learning platform through community and local media outreach.
Wanjiku Munyiri, Impact and Evaluation Projects Regional Manager claims that the organisation has reached to over 8,612 children in Kenya and has established use of technology, developed test and scale of digital education and parental engagement, increased women and girls access to digital library, given 66 public primary schools in Kenya access to critical learning materials, brought local language books to 28 libraries and has enhanced leadership using improved science.