Worldreader, a non-profit that works to support vulnerable and underserved communities, has launched the Readers are Leaders campaign to promote digital reading in Kenya. Under the campaign, Worldreader in partnership with several organizations will distribute e-readers at no cost to beneficiaries. This is in its plan to support vulnerable and underserved communities with digital reading solutions that help improve learning outcomes, and gender equity.
To this end, Worldreader has stepped up efforts to support digital learning since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and has focused its efforts on communities mostly affected by the pandemic. Alongside the Readers are Leaders campaign, Worldreader is inviting readers to sample the free-to-read resources available on the BookSmart phone platform, for learners up to 12 years, and on the Worldreader Reading App for older students and young adults.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Worldreader’s Regional Director, East Africa Joan Mwachi-Amolo said that this donation of devices is in addition to the 9,755 devices that Worldreader has to date provided. She added that these devices have enabled more than 90,000 Kenyan readers to access 1.9 million books online. Readers are Leaders aims to increase this number further by creating access to digital libraries.
“Through our Keep Children Reading initiative we’ve continued to support learners with reading at household level and we want to do more through campaigns like the Readers are Leaders to ensure more reading especially among the vulnerable in our society who may not have access to digital solutions,” added Mwachi-Amolo.