Koforidua, June 29, GNA - Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the Eastern Regional Minister, has appealed to parents and teachers to inculcate the habit of reading in children during their formative years. He was speaking at the closing ceremony of this year's International Children's Book Day celebration in Koforidua.
He appealed to parents and guardians to include responsible parenting in their resolutions and ensure that children under their custody are well brought up.
Nii Amaa Fleischer-Brock, Eastern Regional Manager of Vodafone, advised the children to spend their time profitably and to make the library their "second home".
He on behalf of the company later donated GHC 1,000 cash and assorted products of the company worth GHC 200 towards the programme. Mr Guy Amarteifio, Eastern Regional Librarian, said the celebration was intended to address the perennial problem of reading in the country and also to showcase the importance of public libraries in national development.
He expressed his appreciation to Vodafone for their donation towards the organization of the programme and Sam Woode Limited and Unimaxmacmillian for donating books to be awarded as prizes. Mrs Christiana Agyare-Boateng, New Juaben Municipal Director of Education, said she was happy that most of the award winners were girls and encouraged parents to take keen interest in the education of girls. The International Children's Book Day is a project of the International Board in Books for Young People which is celebrated annually to commemorate the birth of Hans Christian Andersen, who was a prolific writer of children's Books.
This year's celebration which began on June 23 took the form of quiz, essay writing, spelling, Poetry recitals and Drama competitions.
