David Gordon founder of The Book Bus Foundation along with Monica Mulenga the Book Bus administrator in Zambia were delighted to accept an invitation to tea at the House of Lords with Baroness Prosser OBE a trustee of the TUUT Charitable Trust where they presented their report on the success of the first year of their “I am a Reader” campaign, and gratefully received another donation of £35,000 to support the second year of their programme. 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%. Much of the problem is due to poorly resourced schools and under trained teachers. The four year “I am a Reader” Campaign will create classroom reading schemes and library infrastructure for 3,600 children per year by 2020, reaching over 10,000 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. Visit www.thebookbus.org