Age
16
Country of Residence
Nigeria
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
The spark was my little cousins. Last December I went to Ubahu for Christmas. In the morning, I saw my aunt wake up by 4am to go to Enugu to buy bread to resell. By 10am she came back, bread already cold, and she complained transport ate all her profit. That same day, my 8-year-old cousin and two other kids were just roaming the compound, playing with sand, fighting, because there was no school and their parents were in farm. No book, nothing. I was sitting on veranda with my storybook. They came and said “sister read for us.” I started reading and interpreting them in Igbo language. They all circled me, quiet, listening. After we were done for an hour and everyone was tired, One small boy said “sister tomorrow again?” That night I thought – why do we wait for bread to come from Enugu every day, and why do children waste whole holiday playing sand when we can bring them together to read? The problem is same – nothing happens in village, so people go out to find everything. That was my aha. If I can gather kids every Saturday to read on our veranda, I am not just keeping them from roaming, I am showing them village can have something.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I encourage people by showing them, not just talking. First I started with my own street. I went house to house on Friday evening, telling mothers like Mama Nnenna that their children roam too much during this holiday we started, playing sand, throwing stones, sitting on bare floor with bites. I told them bring them to our veranda Saturday 9am to read together. Five mothers agreed first. When they saw their children came back home happy, laughing, saying what they learned, other mothers started asking me "can my own join?" Now I have 12 children every Saturday. So far I have engaged about 12 children, 5 mothers, 2 friends, my mother and Mr Christian. They help with books, snacks, and spreading mat. In future I want to speak in our church to gather more children so no one roams again during holidays.
How many people are on your team?
3
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
My project has started making small impact, even though it is pilot. During this holiday we started, I have held reading corner ten times on our veranda Saturday 9 to 11am. Each time 10 to 12 children come. So total I have reached about 15 children directly. Their ages are 5 to 10. Before, these same children roamed about after morning, throwing stones, sitting on bare floor playing with sand, dirty with mosquito bites all over. Now on Saturday they know they have somewhere to go. They circle together, they wait for story. Mothers told me impact. Mama Ikenna said now on Saturday she can go to farm early because her two kids are with me safe. She is happy. For children, impact is they now love books. One small boy Chibuike who could not read before now can read small sentence. He was always roaming, now he asks "sister which book tomorrow?" Also they fight less because they play together reading. For me, impact is parents respect me now. They call me small aunty. If I continue, I think in one year more than 30 children will stop roaming during holidays and start reading. I believe it will work because children already come without me begging much, they enjoy circling together than playing alone on sand.
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
In my village after school, many small children just roam around, playing with sand and throwing stones because their parents are in farm. No one watches them. They waste time. Instead, I want them to come and circle together with me on our veranda every Saturday 9-11am. I will read storybook loud; we will laugh and learn together. It is better than roaming.
Project title
Weekend Reading Corner for Kids
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
The problem is what children do during holidays. In my village Ubahu, when holiday starts like this long holiday we started, school closes and children just stay idle. Their parents are in farm from morning till evening, so no one watches them. They roam about everywhere, throwing stones at trees, sitting on bare floor playing with sand, their clothes dirty, mosquito bites all over their legs. Some fight, some go to stream alone. They waste whole holiday doing nothing. This matters to me because I see my small cousins doing same every holiday. Last holiday they roamed for one month and when school resumed they forgot how to read. My aunty is tired; she says "these children disturb me." I feel bad because if they continue roaming like that during holidays, they will learn bad things and not love books. Our village needs a place where children can circle together instead of roaming. A place to read and play well. That is why I want to solve idleness during holidays.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
In next 6 months, I want to add small writing. After reading, children will write one sentence about story. This will help them not forget school during holiday. In one year, I want to move from only my veranda to two more compounds in Ubahu, so more children stop roaming. I will train two of my senior friends to lead those corners like me. My mentor Mr Christian said he will help me talk to town union for small mat and board. My goal is that by next holiday, no child in my street will sit on bare floor playing sand with bites all over. They will all circle together to read.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What is different about my project is that other people wait for big things, I use small things we already have. In my village, when people talk about helping children, they think government should build library or NGO should come with big books. But government library never comes. So children keep roaming, playing sand on bare floor, throwing stones. My own is different. I don't wait. I use our family veranda, not a building. I use mat, not chairs. I use old storybooks I bought during my former school, not new ones. I gather children by going house to house myself on Friday, not by announcement. Also many reading programs are in school with teacher shouting and children fear. Mine is circle style. We sit together on mat like family. We laugh, we act story, and small children who cannot read can see pictures. It is not school, it is play and read. And I do it during this holiday we started again when children are most idle and roaming everywhere. Other programs stop when school closes. Mine starts when holiday starts, because that is when problem is worst. So innovation is simple: veranda instead of library, mat instead of desk, holiday instead of school time, and circle together instead of roaming alone.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
My solution is Weekend Reading Corner on our veranda. Every Saturday during this holiday we started, from 9am to 11am, I gather 10 to 15 small kids from my street to read together. I don't have money, so I use what we have. I spread mat on our family veranda and we sit in circle, not like classroom. On Friday evening I go house to house to tell their mothers – Mama Nnenna, Mama Obi, among others – to bring their children tomorrow. Most mothers are happy because their children will stop roaming. On Saturday, I use storybooks and some from my own old books. I read one story loud with funny voice and then interpret, then I ask them what they learned. We act the story, we laugh. Then I give each child chance to read one line. For small ones who cannot read, I show pictures. After reading we play small game like spelling. I give biscuit sometimes donated by my mother to make them happy to come again. This solves idleness because instead of throwing stones and sitting on sand with bites all over, children now have where to go. They circle together, they read, they are safe and parents can go to farm with peace.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
My team is small but they help me well. I have two people. First is my mother. She is my biggest support. She allows me to use our veranda every Saturday even when visitors come. She helps me spread mat and sweep the place before children come. Sometimes when I have no money, she buys small biscuits or groundnut for the children, like 500 naira own, so they will be happy to come again.
