THE International Association of Lions Club Multiple District 60, on Friday, donated a collection of books and other educational materials to the Ketley Primary School, in Charlestown, as part of their International Foundation Reading Action Programme.

The donation was made as part of the activities of the organisation’s 39th Multiple District 60 Convention which is being held in Guyana from May 8-12.

After consulting with the Ministry of Education for a school that was most in need of the donations, Ketley Primary was selected from the three schools that were submitted.
Head teacher of the school, Choline Singh, shared that the donation came at a very opportune time, as she has been on a mission to revamp literacy development at the school since she took over as the school’s head earlier this year.

“When a child cannot excel in literacy, it will affect that child’s overall performance in all the other subject areas. So it was sometime in January when I started to act in the capacity of head teacher that I recognised the need to really zero-in on literacy,” Singh noted, adding that:

“The fact that we received this donation is very timely because we have some books but they are a bit outdated, so having this donation will go a very far way. We are going to be able to set up our reading room which will be a lot more conducive and the children will be able to learn in a more exciting way, so the headteacher, pupils, and teachers of Ketley are very, very grateful for this donation at this point. We hope that it’s not the last, we hope too that we can have some gadgets also,” Singh said.
This the third year that the organisation is running the Reading Program concurrent with the convention. The donation goes towards a school in the country where the convention is being held.

Present at Friday’s handing-over ceremony was Lions Club International Director, Patricia Vannett, and Chair of the Council of Governors, Sherwin Greenidge. They encouraged the children to ensure they make the best use of the books and other materials, and to develop a love for reading.

Program Chairperson for the Reading Action Program, Taramatee Naraine, reminded of the important role that reading plays in human development.
“Literacy is a fundamental human right and the basis for any individuals’ ability to learn. It is essential for social and human development. It provides the skills and empowers them to transform their lives. The ability to also communicate in a rapidly-changing world is of vital importance to all,” she said