A book a day keeps the mind at play

Learners from Havana Primary School make eager use of their library facilities and are encouraged daily to take books home and build on their knowledge by reading material other than their required textbooks that they receive in class.

Located in the Havana informal settlement, Havana Primary School caters for about 600 learners. The read-a-thon, held in September every year, is the platform for a progressive campaign and the promotion of reading. The ministry of education supports this event and the director of the ministry of education of the Khomas region, Gerard Vries, was invited to be the speaker at the event held at Havana Primary School last week.

“Reading is so crucial to a learner's brain development and it stimulates knowledge, skills and creativity. Reading is regarded as the foundation on which language skills and better-thinking strategies are moulded,” he says.

Vries also touched on how reading is regarded as a very important ingredient in our lives and how one can expose themselves to new things, improving your understanding, preparing to take action, gain experience from other people and enhance the suppleness of your brain.

“Reading books give learners mental agility and opens windows into the unknown world.

Books calm our minds and give us a detailed insight into world events. Libraries are the institutions that provide books and other materials to read and it is for this reason we need to create these habits and set aside time every day for everyone to read a book, magazine or newspaper,” says the director.

Ancient geographer Strabo said Aristotle was the first to have put together a collection of books and to have taught the kings in Egypt how to arrange a library.

Throughout most of the library's history, the term “book” referred to works written on papyrus and some parchment rolls.

After this idea was developed over the years, libraries were born and all bookworms had a place to call home.

The librarian of Havana Primary School, Martin Namupolo, says the learners try their best to make use of the facilities.

After starting last year in November, Namupolo says he enjoys the experience.

“Before I came here, I used to work at the Supreme Court and I was deprived from interaction with people.

I only used to work with the books and I would only talk with my colleagues.

“Coming here, I enjoy having conversations with the learners and helping them chose the right books for them,” he says.

According to Namupolo, the learners at his school are mostly interested in story books. They really enjoy reading story books.

This is something which is also encouraged as they are exposed to different kinds of writing.

They only make use of the non-fictional books when they are given homework in class or tasked to find out certain information from their teacher,” he says. He also said that learners as young as eight make use of the library and they engage in reading as well.

He told The Zone that those in pre-primary school and grade 1 would rather come into the library and help each other build a puzzle.

“This is still a good thing as the environment here is very conducive.

“Being in the library and seeing other learners read will also encourage them to take up reading as a hobby in future when they reach that level,” he says.

Namupolo spoke about the benefits of establishing a reading culture and said a learner that can read will be more confident compared to those that cannot. “Reading builds these learners' self-esteem.

“They are not shy to speak about something as their confidence also grows with their reading.

“It also creates a sense of awareness around them. Even though they are not fully exposed to the outside world, they will be more intrigued to read up on something, rather than just brushing it off when they hear about it. They will also be able to stand their ground and be ready to take on the world and make a proper judgement,” he says.

He also shared the same sentiments as Vries as he believes learners discover new things through reading and they polish their basic skills like spelling and the pronunciation of words. “Reading is so important because words spoken and words written are the building blocks of life.

“You are the result of what you read and write and your future will depend on the words that you believe about yourself,” says Namupolo.

The challenge he has experienced so far is the availability of resources.

“Learners get bored sometimes as they have to reuse the books over and over again. We experience this a lot especially with the learners that love reading,” he said. He also added that their library only has one computer, so it is difficult to assist the learners when it comes to doing research or homework.

“When they are given assignments from teachers, it is difficult for me to assist them all and print for each and every one.

“This is difficult and resources are very limited, so we are also requesting for anyone to assist and help us with books, computers or copy machines.”

With technology advancing and improving every day, Namupolo said it is difficult to maintain a reading culture for the youth as they find books “boring” and they would rather watch television and use their time to visit social media sites. “Children would rather use digital devices to keep their mind engaged.

That is why authors these days are starting to release books in digital formats every day.”

Namupolo says reading is an important hobby for children to grow and he encourages teachers and parents to make sure their children at least read one book every week.



TUNOHOLE MUNGOBA