U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda Donald W. Koran and nearly 30 other staff from the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda fanned out across Kigali on Wednesday March 6, to read aloud to primary school students on World Read Aloud Day.
The volunteers reached 14 schools and more than 500 children, firing up their imaginations with stories ranging from fairy tales to modern stories.
The event was intended to promote both a culture of reading and a spirit of volunteerism in Rwanda.
For some Embassy staff, this was their first visit to a Rwandan school, and they came back very excited about the students’ enthusiasm.
World Read Aloud Day is organized by LitWorld as part of their Global Literacy Movement.
The day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people.
World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.
By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read and share their words to change the world.
The World Read Aloud Day movement has been growing steadily. In 2010, it reached 40,000 students in 35 countries, in 2011, 200,000 participants in 60 countries, and in 2012, the campaign reached 65 countries and hundreds of thousands of participants.
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