Reading is the Future

The seaside town of Leogane was at the epicenter of the earthquake. Eight in 10 buildings in the town were damaged or destroyed. As part of the recovery effort, we have supported the Centre d’Education Classique de Lompre school, where Joseph, 10, attends classes. The school is among those where we have introduced the Reading is the Future program to build key literacy skills and the basics of the language. It also fosters motivation and pride, as many of the stories children read are about their own environment.  

Joseph, who lives near the school with his mother, has thrived in the program: “I love school. I am happy here. I love reading. I love the pictures in the books. I read with my cousins and with my mom and grandmother.” Aside from his emphatic love of books, there is one activity that particularly resonated with Joseph – making books himself. With the thrill of describing a best-kept secret, he explained: “There is something we do on Monday afternoons called the Community Reading Circle. I really like it. We sing songs. We read. And we make books.” The book Joseph made depicts what is close to his heart - the houses of his grandmother and cousins who live in his neighborhood.