SIERRA LEONE – School Clubs to Promote Literacy

The aim of this Project is to promote literacy and a love of reading through a number of school clubs in Sierra Leone. Five schools - two in Freetown and three in the rural areas outside the capital - have been chosen for the Project and each school club will consist of about 30 pupils. They will each be provided with copies of the Moomin story, 'The Invisible Child' by Tove Jansson, which as a result of our funding will have been translated into Krio, the local language, and published locally. Access to the book, translated and published in their mother tongue, should better allow the promotion of literature as a powerful social tool, encouraging reading, critical thinking and creative writing, whilst also helping to build self-confidence.

Additionally, apart from the work of the school clubs, supplemental copies of the book will be available for sale, through local booksellers, to spread the benefits of this Krio book further into the community. Help will also be sought from the Sierra Leone Government to become involved and to help popularise the book.

In a country where books in schools are in short supply and often not available in Krio, we hope that this Project will, through reading in their own local language, open the world of literature to many children and equip them with the interests and skills that literacy brings, and as a result will help to change many lives."