PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – The Kids Educational Engagement Project (KEEP) announces the Official Launch of its 2020 National Reading Campaign, under the theme, KEEP Reading: Transforming Lives Through Reading, on Thursday, February 6, at the Lutheran Compound on 13th Street, in Sinkor.
The year-long Reading Campaign, which will be formally launched by the Minister of Education, Prof. D. Ansu Sonii, is a series of programs and activities to promote the culture of reading in Liberia.
According to a release from KEEP, the nationwide campaign intends to raise public awareness about the importance of reading as well as engage parents, teachers, and communities to become more involved in improving a child’s reading habit and proficiency.
With the aim to promote a culture of reading in Liberia, KEEP was established in 2014. In the last three years, it has established 15 safe and conducive reading spaces in 7 counties, including Montserrado, Bong, Grand Gedeh, Rivercess, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu and Bomi Counties. KEEP has also trained 155 teachers in improved methods and strategies of reading and 57 students in computer literacy. The Liberian charity has distributed over 26,000 books to schools and organizations, established book/reading clubs in communities and schools, and conducts weekly reading sessions at it’s various reading rooms.
“We are encouraged by the life-changing impacts of our work, and grateful for the support, partnerships and contributions we have received over the years, all of which keeps us committed to continuing our interventions, by opening at least six new reading rooms in Nimba, Maryland, Montserrado and Bomi Counties, in 2020”
– Brenda Brewer Moore, the Founder and Executive Director of KEEP
KEEP has provided 177 girls with economic training skills, and at least 350 women with business start-up funds through its Village Savings and Loans Program intended to empower mothers keep their children in school by contributing to the economic needs of their family.
“We are passionate about our work, and desire to do more this year and the years ahead”, said Brenda Brewer Moore, the Founder and Executive Director of KEEP.
“We are encouraged by the life-changing impacts of our work, and grateful for the support, partnerships and contributions we have received over the years, all of which keeps us committed to continuing our interventions, by opening at least six new reading rooms in Nimba, Maryland, Montserrado and Bomi Counties, in 2020”, the KEEP CEO added.
On the National Reading Campaign, Mrs. Moore said KEEP has already produced a booklet intended to encourage parents to invest in the reading habits of their children, and will undertake a series of special reading promotions and public awareness activities over the period of the Campaign.