Children learn. But what do we want them to learn? Do we want them to learn to be: persistent? Good communicators? Good at relationships? Respectful? Happy? Self-reliant? A self-starter? Able to read so they can read to learn?

Join us as we share with you a roadtrip that one of our coordinators embarked on to Buvuma Island in Uganda.

It is sad that there seems to be more “Emmanuel’s” that can’t read than “Patrick’s” in Africa, because the “book maths” of creating a reading culture is really quite simple: We need great, fun stories that are well-illustrated and feature places, people, images and situations that Africa’s children can relate to. A vibrant, positive, “BOOKS ARE TOYS TOO,” reading culture in Africa is achievable.

“Did you see the reading materials we gave Abel last week?” asked the headteacher. “I kept them safe in my suitcase, Mr Headteacher,” answered Abel’s father. Mr Headteacher knew that the reading materials had not served the intended purpose of aiding home study to accelerate learning in post-covid education. He shares this story to reinforce our argument about the reality that many times in homes where parents have no understanding of reading as a key competence to lifelong learning and success, books are treated as ritual objects which can only be used for some sort of occasion.

In 2020, as a response to the pandemic school closures, STEPi collaborated with Spiritual Playdate to create Uplift. Uplift is a training programme for adults that support them in offering social, emotional and spiritual life skills to kids. Using STEPi and Spiritual Playdate resources that are socially-conscious and culturally relevant, Uplift activities are designed to inspire a love for reading and develop peace-building skills.

STEPi stands for Squaring The Education Pyramid Institute. Our manifesto is inspired by the belief to "square the pyramid” which means each child should have access to the same resources as those born into privilege. Society spends significantly more resources on those who reach the top of the pyramid; they spend more on higher education and an elite workforce, while the others aren’t prioritised. Beginning in early childhood, the needs of all children need to be met no matter if it is something as simple as a pencil or a book.

It was a long trek to Jupamatho village in the Lendu community in a hard-to-reach area of Uganda to visit a community school. It was a hustle to reach the school, even with a car; we had to leave the car and trek for three kilometers.

Children and books deserve to be together, have a right to be together, and we are slowly bridging the gap. Bringing books to children and children to books; putting them on the same page to make learning and reading fun again!