Earlier in the term, I approached College with the idea of my charity which was still very much in its developing stages. My mum has had the idea of starting a library and has mentioned it to me numerous times throughout the past few years. The past two years in lockdown reminded me how fortunate I am. I was able to attend online lessons, I wasn’t away from my family, and as insane as this last point might sound, I had a house to quarantine in, something that 24.4 million people from my home country of Nigeria do not. I also got back into the habit of reading during the lockdown, which brought my mum and I back into conversation about starting our mobile library initiative, Drive to Read, in Lagos, Nigeria. The library will be stationed at or near a local school for two to three months at a time, and students will be able to have consistent reading time built into and around their school day, which they ordinarily wouldn’t be used to. Access to books is something I have never had to worry about; I have always had an abundance of easily accessible books. At pretty much any point during the school day, I can pop down to the Library and pick from one of many books, but unfortunately, this is not the case with the vast majority of Nigerian children. My project aims to help alleviate this issue.
Obviously, the most important aspect of a library is the books, and I am so grateful to the CLC community for their assistance with this. Their donations of books filled 11 large boxes to the brim! I am also so grateful to Cheltenham College and Cheltenham Bournside School, who also donated books towards my initiative. The reading culture in Nigeria has been rated as one of the worst globally by the World Culture Score Index. Additionally, 30% of Nigerians are non-literate, and four in 10 primary school children still cannot read for comprehension. The donations I have received will help improve the literacy rate and reading culture of the areas the mobile library visits.
I am also so excited for the launch of my project on Wednesday 13th April at a local school in Nigeria and I look forward to sharing the project’s progress during Prayers in the Summer Term.
Osenke, SFC1 (Year 12)
Osenke (pictured left) and fellow student Obasemilore, SFC1/Year 12
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