Empowering children with the lifelong skill of reading...
The Young Reader's Project
The Young Readers Project is an initiative started to foster the habit of reading in young children. Our primary focus is to put a book in the hands of every child in government schools.
Research shows that reading to children at a young age significantly impacts on children’s literacy skills, cognitive development and can facilitate social interaction around them. Many children in primary and secondary school from less privileged backgrounds are seldom able to meet the required reading proficiency requirements, which can be attributed to the lack of resources they can access.
In a society with vast inequality, reading is a skill that can level the playing field for children in India. The program is a self-sustaining movement that works on creating a complete reading experience for a child through three primary steps.
Why our work matters
1 in 5 people people in India including 100 million children cannot read or write.
Out of the 26 million children who enter 1st grade each year, half of them will reach 5th grade unable to read or write
Children who read 20 minutes a day, are exposed to almost 2 million words a year.
Reports suggest that over 50% of employers in India use an English test as part of the interview process, and approximately half offer. better starting salary to applicants with good English language skills.
The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
Dr. Suess
Our 4 step process explained
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Refurbishing libraries- Government schools in Bangalore are identified, fundraisers are conducted to collect funds to set up an interactive and inviting reading space for children. The program also relies on CSR funds and collection drives to do so.
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Book collection and purchase: This step deals with the collection of books from different communities. There are several families whose children have outgrown picture books and books for early readers. We reach out to these families to collect well maintained books, good-quality books after a filtering process and add them into the library. Using the funds collected from the fundraisers, we also purchase books from acclaimed Indian children’s publishers such as Pratham books, Karadi Tales in regional languages to create an inclusive reading experience for children who lack familiarity with English books. Our collection of books will teach children about exploration, science, kindness, bravery, the environment and many other themes about the beautiful world they live in.
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Reading Program: At the Young Readers Project, our volunteers curate well-researched, individualised plans for children to enable them to grow as readers. These allow our readers to transition through the four stages of comprehension (early readers, emerging readers, capable readers, and young adult readers). Furthermore, the library is left open, enabling children free to explore the library during their free time.
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Selecting Volunteers: At the YRP, we look for volunteers who committed to the cause. We ask that they consider their schedule carefully so they any time committed to YRP is adhered to. We don’t want last minute cancellations to cause any disappointment for our children. We check to see if volunteers are comfortable interacting with children, have patience, kindness and discipline.
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Teacher Training: The Young Readers Project provides an in-depth Librarian Training course for teachers and administrators. It aims to educate teachers on the ways in which the library can be properly managed, maintained and used frequently. It enables teachers to use the resources in their classrooms and collaborate with other teachers to achieve effective learning outcomes. Teachers are also trained to create an effective library book check-out system so children can take books home and read them.
