Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi; Nii Afutu Brempong IV and others at the launch
The Mother of All Nations Foundation, a non-governmental organization yesterday officially launched its annual reading project dubbed ReadCamp Project 2019 at the auditorium of the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly (LaNMA).
The launch which was attended by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) -`Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi; Nii Afutu Brempong IV - Chief of Danfa; Richard Dah - CEO of VALUE Advertising; Lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu - Human Rights Lawyer and aspiring NDC parliamentary candidate for Madina Constituency; Mr. Adams Yunus - Deputy Director of Baraka Policy Institute and Madam Millicent Nyarko - Director of Department of Social Welfare and Community Development of LaNMA. Also, in attendance was some selected Senior and Junior High Schools and some various stakeholders whom articulated their thoughts on the importance of reading by the youths especially those in the Lower and Upper Primary Levels.
Human Rights Lawyer, Lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu in delivering his speech urged the students to take reading with all the seriousness it deserves as he believes it is the only key to greater heights. He said it is only through reading that one can develop his or her potential and whatever one’s desires are, it can only be manifested through reading. He shared his personal story and how far he has reached in life and urged the students not to see reading as a chore. He said reading widely opens many doors of opportunities and also fosters religious and ethnic tolerance.
The Municipal Chief Executive of the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly, Hon. Jennifer Dede Afagbedzi reiterated what Lawyer Sosu said and urged the students to take their education seriously and see reading as a key element if they want to attain the highest of success in life.
Mr. Adam Yunus, Deputy Director of the Baraka Policy Institute also added his voice by calling for “Youth Centered Education” where he said the opinions of students should not be relegated to the background but rather play an important role in the decision-making processes. He added that this makes the youths be in the center of their education thereby making them feel part and parcel of their educational trajectory.
Madam Millicent Nyarko, Director Department of Social Welfare and Community Development stressed on the impact of reading in community development and called on community leaders to welcome initiatives like the ReadCamp which has the potential of improving on the reading standards of youth in communities which will help reduce economic crisis, insecurity among many in the future.
The Chief Executive Director of Mother of All Nations Foundation and the Read Camp Project, Mr. Ishaq Zico Abubakar Newton spoke about the purpose of Read Camp, successes chalked over the years, challenges and the promise it holds in shaping the next generation of young people. He further appealed to the general public and corporate bodies to support the initiative financially to give it the needed boost.
The Read Camp is a literacy project targeted at improving the reading and creative writing skills whiles instilling strong self-confidence and igniting the love of reading among the young ones in the communities. This year’s edition is the fourth year in a row and it marked a departure from the previous editions which had only one centre. This year’s project will be held in three (3) centres basically Madina, Pantang Village and Danfa.
It is expected to bring together about 1,500 pupils within the Municipality and environs and will have 200 volunteers.
The theme for this year’s edition is “Igniting Change, Inspiring Confidence” and it is scheduled to begin from July 30th to 21st August 2019.
