Ford South Africa Partners United Way Ghana to Improve Childhood Literacy

A child's ability to read and write sets him or her on the path of success. On 20th February, Ford South Africa in partnership with United Way Ghana set-up a Reading Oasis in Onwe, in the Ashanti Region to engage young learners in fun and interactive literacy activities. With support from Ghana Library Authority, age-appropriate books were made available to 121 young learners who were assisted by 10 trained volunteers to read a number of stories and narrate them.

During the pre-assessment of the young learners reading proficiency, we discovered that only 56.37% of them were able to read class-appropriate books. After engaging them weekly for 5 months, the percentage increased to 92.15%. Though the initial programme has ended, the community leaders have taken up the mantle to run the programme under the guidance of United Way Ghana and Ghana Library Authority.

Bright Agyei Ababio, one of the beneficiaries had this to say, At first, I did not like reading my notes and textbooks because it was difficult for me to read and understand them. But now, I enjoy reading so I always read my notes. Thank you Ford South Africa and United Way Ghana for helping me to discover my love for reading