Today in our fast-paced world, lifelong learning has taken a back seat as social media continues to consume our lives. Reading is slowly becoming a lost art as people can barely sustain an hour’s attention to read a good book.
Meet an 11-year-old girl Racheal Nafula, a student from Kibera School for Girls (KSG) SHOFCO, who won the Mashujaa wa Kusoma Award on Monday, October 21, after reading 1,178 books.
Rachael read the books in three months marking a new record. Mashujaa wa Kusoma Award is a recognition event organised by Worldreader and the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) to ignite the love of books for young people.
The young scholar from Little Rock School earned a total of 20,680 points after clearing the catalog. The awards ceremony, which spotlights exceptional young readers and communities that have embraced reading as a path to empowerment, took place at the Maktaba Kuu Building in Nairobi.
The campaign encouraged children to read 25 books within three months, with the best performers recognized as reading heroes in a bid to spur reading culture in young learners.
Other winners include siblings Quintine Owino who read 1,087 books and Delssa Owino who completed 1,080 books. Similarly, Ian Olive read 1,077 books and Wesley Joel Mareri 732 books.
The Mashujaa wa Kusoma initiative, officially launched on July 12, 2024, brought together children aged between 3 and 12. Some of this year’s participants came from Nairobi, Kisumu, Kiambu, and Mombasa counties.
Speaking at the event, Charles Nzivo, CEO of KNLS stated that the initiative is aimed at availing learning materials to all. “Our libraries are gateways to knowledge. Mashujaa wa Kusoma reflects our commitment to making books accessible to all, whether through physical branches or digital platforms like the BookSmart App,” he stated.
On her part, Olivia Kimani, the Director of Partnerships and Services at Worldreader Kenya reckoned that exposing young people to lifelong learning is key. “Ensuring equitable access to digital tools of learning is the first step to empowering our children. Our partnership with KNLS has allowed us to bridge literacy gaps and engage families in fun and meaningful reading experiences,” she averred.
The parent-child book clubs introduced through KNLS, county libraries, and community initiatives also created spaces for family engagement, demonstrating the role of libraries as key community centers for literacy development.
Worldreader, which has reached more than 22 million readers globally in partnership with KNLS, held a grand celebration of Mashujaa wa Kusoma, a national reading initiative designed to foster a culture of lifelong learning.
Worldreader’s BookSmart app, a digital library with thousands of free books, provided children access to age-appropriate content on mobile phones. From adventure stories to African folklore, children discovered the joy of reading while developing their comprehension skills.
Through the joint efforts of KNLS, Worldreader, and community partners, the initiative has demonstrated that reading can thrive even in resource-limited areas when parents, teachers, and communities unite around a shared vision.
