The United Nations outlines Education as one of the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2019 we unveiled a project dubbed "Gifting Smiles Book Run" which seeks to promote the Reading Culture among pupils in Kilifi County. This initiative started in 2017 by the Founder Elizabeth Ziro, aiming at collecting books and sending them to children in school who cannot afford to buy. It is an annual project targeting public primary schools among the 7 Sub counties in Kilifi County.
The Reading culture in Kilifi County is sadly dying out. The school curriculum put more emphasis on grading, and less on children reading to understand, or for pleasure, with teachers drilling and pushing them hard to get higher grades. Ultimately, the children result in mechanical cramming just to pass exams. The learning environment for pupils struggling to access information,stand up or strain themselves to reach storybooks and other learning materials does education seem enjoyable to them?
The program aims at complementing what pupils learn in school because most schools lack teaching and learning materials such as supplement books and storybooks, which has greatly hampered academic progress of pupils in the region, by doing this we believe will greatly increase their knowledge and double their potential for development and innovation. With our learning resource center we are trying to equip it with books, computers and resourceful materials where pupils can come and read.
Literacy and academic performance will improve, more students will graduate from primary to secondary school and eventually to the university.
