Written by CorpsAfrica/Malawi Volunteer Ms. Grace Sichinga
If you are reading this blog, I believe it is fair to assume that you have received education in some form, whether informal or formal. Books certainly played an essential role in that education. Our ability to read, write, and understand depends on our exposure to a lot of things, especially books.
One of my fondest memories growing up was when my mum would take my brother and me to a bookstore. We would be able to pick so many books filled with adventure and lessons. I remember finding my first book on crosswords and how my love for crosswords grew from then onwards. Books can become a child’s best friend and life companion.
The life of a student should revolve around books or at the very least, should have access to books. Books not only allow students to learn from them, but they also encourage students’ imagination.
Some of the benefits of reading books for students and children include; increasing the knowledge and improving their intellect. It also introduces students to the diverse societies and civilizations across the world. Books can also help students solve problems they may face from reading about different experiences. Reading about these experiences will make them more self-aware, empathetic, and compassionate. Apart from learning from experiences, books also help to improve students’ ability to think critically and analytically.
When students/children learn something at school, books help to instill that knowledge in them as they have something to refer back to. It helps them improve their memory and visualize what they learned in class, as such they can easily remember what they learn in the future. One of the fastest ways to improve a child’s vocabulary is through reading books. Books are filled with new words that help modify and increase our vocabulary.
Although books are evidently immensely beneficial, not all students or children are able to access books. This is the case for some of the primary schools in my community. Through my community engagements as a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, I engaged with the leadership from two primary schools in my community that have a shared need for books, learners’ books as well as teacher’s guides. The students in the schools have limited or no access to all sorts of books, from educational (school) textbooks to fun books. These schools lack the books to form a proper library, from which their students can easily borrow. As such, I saw that there is a need to be met. That is why I came up with this initiative to appeal to the public to donate books, school supplies, and money that can help the students from these schools. This school supply drive is currently still running till the end of the month of March 2022. The kids and I will be eternally grateful for any help you give.
