The Covid 19 crisis has had negative effects on the education sector throughout the world. Educators have had to look at different ways to effectively impart literacy skills to their learner.
Those with resources have turned to e-learning which is only available to a certain ‘class’ of learner those with access to smart phones, tablets or computers. For the majority Radio and Television are much more accessible. Radio transcends Television as it reaches the remotest areas, it can be used to offer consistent programs with defined goals and objectives and can be used for all grades and age groups.
As Covid 19 began to take hold in Kenya, the Book Bus Foundation set up free bi-weekly storytime sessions on Radio Icengelo, Kitwe. The sessions, available in English and Bemba, aim to nurture a love of reading, helping children to keep up their literacy skills even though their classrooms were forced to close due to Covid19. The 2020 donation of £50,000 from the TUUT Charitable Trust has been used in part to fund these sessions.
The application for funding was supported by the University and College Union.
The Book Bus “I am a Reader” Campaign is a response to the low levels of literacy in the primary schools o Zambia and Malawi. Quoted child literacy rates in these countries are around 70% but in rural and disadvantaged urban areas can be as low as 15%. It creates classroom reading schemes and library infrastructure for children. Its legacy will be schools equipped with skilled staff and resources to continue providing quality reading instructions for thousands more children in the future.www.thebookbus.org