Hello, my name is Lydia Azakornu I am a class 3 English teacher and work as an educator with children.

In Ghana, only two percent of pupils in lower primary school can read at the expected level for their age*. One of the reasons for this is that children often do not have access to age-appropriate books.

A lack of resources in schools can often mean children’s only experience of reading is reading passages their teacher has written on the board.

Child Survival Aid Ghana is using books received from their US partners to change this by setting up reading clubs in some of Ghana’s most under-resourced primary schools. Now, for the first time, pupils are discovering the joy of reading.

Class three teacher Lydia, at Kotobabi Primary School in Tema West tells us more about the difference that new books are making for the children in her school.

“Without Footprint Possibilities and the books it helps provide from Books for Africa, my school’s reading club would have existed merely in name and wouldn’t have been as active as it is now.”

I am a class three teacher at Kotobabi Primary School and I’m also the school’s reading club patron. One of my aims as a teacher is to ensure my pupils develop reading habits but this couldn’t happen in the absence of books. We only had very few books in our school library previous to the recent efforts at sending books.  But the arrival of books from Book for Africa has made it easy for me to enforce my desire. The books came at a time when we had started our own reading club but having enough books was one of the major challenges. We were unable to carry out reading club activities for lack of books. Now we are able to carry out activities as well as even organize internal and external reading competitions.

My children’s interest in reading is now heightened because of the availability of the books. Also, I have noticed that my children are more attentive in class and are confident in speech – especially those that read a lot.

Last term, there was a reading competition in our district and my school came first!
We are still seeking your support for this project and would be very grateful for any contribution that you are able to make towards this work. 

With your assistance we can continue to make significant changes in the lives of the people in rural Africa, Ghana by providing them with the books they need.  On behalf of all these children we would like to thank you for considering helping us in your small way.

Yours Sincerely,

Lydia Azakornu
Class 3 Teacher Kotobabi Primary School