10 Councils get book aid grants

Ten Councils in Cameroon will, each, receive a consignment of 2,500 new books and a financial grant from the UK-based NGO, Book Aid International.

Projects Manager, Judith Henderson, who has been in Cameroon for the past few days, spoke to the press, following a training workshop held in Limbe on March 12, where, she said, her NGO was in Cameroon to encourage and build up a firm reading-culture in young children in a project termed; “Inspiring Young Readers.”

Working in collaboration with a Cameroon-based NGO, Education Information Services International, EISERVI, the project has selected some 10 Councils from the Northwest and Southwest Regions which it intends to work with, in the task of getting the young people interested in reading books.

The project is coming at a time when the reading-culture in Cameroon is really in crisis. Children and even grownups would prefer, rather, to busy on pleasantries and other pastimes than reading a book. For the women folk, it is watching TV serials and other films, especially the menu from Nigeria, while the men have made beer parlour business and football top on their list.

In order to break this culture and re-instill the habit of reading by inspiring children, Book Aid and their Cameroon collaborators got some 23 library managers from 10 Councils, namely; Limbe, Tiko, Mamfe, Kumba, Ekondo Titi, Bamenda, Belo, Kumbo, Mbengwi and Bafut.

The participants went through a four-day training in Limbe where they were drilled in skills that they shall use to attract young ones as well as grownups to come to their libraries and make use of the books that Book Aid intends to donate.

“Each library will receive 2,500 new books for children, a grant for refurbishment, funds to purchase locally published books in local languages and training for librarians,” stated a release from Book Aid.

The Executive Director of EISERVI, Andrew Nyenty, said the project shall end up spending some FCFA 77 million for each of the Councils. He thanked Book Aid for all that they have been doing to their communities.

EISERVI Manager, Emmanuel Sanyi, said the project was one of the ways Book Aid, which clocked 60 last year since its founding, has decided to mark its 60th anniversary. He said Book Aid has embarked on opening 60 book corners around the world. Cameroon, he said, was fortunate to be one of the beneficiary countries.

The training was presided at by the Secretary General of the Limbe City Council, Charles Arrey Nkongho, who also hailed Book Aid for coming to lay a good educational foundation for Cameroon’s children.

He advised the trainees that; “When you go back, get into partnerships with your community radios, churches, business community. Organise radio quizzes and even if you put up just a tin of tomatoes as the winning prize, this will certainly go a long way to attract and inspire the public that you need to come to your library,” the SG said.