GE Nigeria, United for Kids Foundation to launch Mobile Library in schools

In its desire to teach pupils to read correctly and improve their literacy, GE Nigeria is collaborating with a non-profit organization – United for Kids Foundation (UKF) to set up a Mobile Library for literacy development programme called ‘Read To Me’.   

The Read-To-Me mobile library programme which kicked off in four primary schools in the Akowonjo area of Alimosho Local Government, would cover the entire Lagos State.   

About 350 children are currently enrolled in  this initial launch of the Mobile Library in four schools, planning to reach  1,800 children per annum.The Mobile Library, according to GE, is the first of many to come, adding that it would teach pupils to read  and improve their literacy. 

During the Mobile Library launch at Akowonjo Primary School, the Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer, GE Africa, Patricia Obozuwa explained that the idea for GE to sponsor the Mobile Library was borne out of the interactions and experiences GE has had from years of partnering with the United for Kids Foundation to run the Read-To-Me program in conventional libraries set up in other government primary schools across Lagos State. 

“This initiative is ingenious because the library is mobile library, which means it can serve several schools simultaneously” she said. Obozuwa noted that the project was one of the many that GE has supported as part of its continent wide Corporate Social Responsibility platform, GE Kujenga. 

She said: “GE Kujenga focuses on empowering people by building valuable skills, equipping communities with new tools and technology and elevating innovative ideas that are helping solve Africa’s challenges.    “Not many skills are as valuable for the child than the ability to read. This program fits naturally into the ‘empower’ bucket of GE Kujenga”. 

Obozuwa further explained that the company, through its GE Volunteer Programme, gets employees together not only to pool funds to support worthy causes but also to spend time and effort volunteering on various projects that help bring about greater good in the society. Speaking on the journey so far, Aameenah Yunus-Ali, Programs Manager for UKF said the foundation has been running the Read-To-Me literacy programme for kids in various schools for eight years. 

According to her, UKF decided to use primary schools in Alimosho Local Government Area as pioneers for the Mobile Library because of its large population of primary school children and because it is easily accessible. She said: “The programme runs basically by us first assessing the kids to identify their literacy levels. 

This is what the volunteers would be doing today. “We identify kids who are easily passed over in their classrooms in primary four and five. What we do is to first have a reading assessment to know how well the kids can read. We then measure this assessment based on the standardized word count per minute.” “The program is run to ensure no child is left behind in the classroom. 

Our process is run such that we assess each child’s reading ability and thereafter work with each child based on their level. “What we have seen is that, with the assessment and follow-up reading/mentoring sessions, the kids in the lower reading levels are motivated to work harder to meet up with their peers and become competent in their reading skills. And of course, once a child can read, excelling in every other subject becomes easy too.” 

Also speaking, Remi Erinle, a member of the GE Volunteers Council said that the staff of the company were excited about volunteering on projects like this where they could help the kids develop their reading abilities. 

She said: “We’ve been working and supporting the United for Kids Foundation (UKF) for some years now, and UKF does amazing work going into schools to work with the kids and with the several children in need they support across Lagos. “It is that partnership that exposed us to these schools and others like these where we can lend our support.” “We volunteer to come in periodically to help take the kids through the Read-To-Me programme curriculum. 

We have observed that the time spent with the kids is of great value to them as people other than their parents and teachers have an interest in them. It has really excites and motivates the kids to put in their all. 

Over the course of the years, we have noticed great improvements in the literacy levels of several kids, which has transcended to improved confidence and better assimilation and performance in all their other subjects.”