Readworm, a student volunteer organization, was birthed in February 2010 when a team of four Ashesi students from the class of 2012 decided to enter the Dell Social Innovation Competition. The Founders were united by their passion for reading and wish to promote reading among other young people in the country. Although Readworm did not make it to the final stage of the competition, they found other ways to realize their mission and make a difference in the broader community. Readworm’s mission is to upgrade non-operational community libraries in Ghana and to introduce activities that make young people interested to read and patronize library services. Their vision is to break the cycle of poverty in Ghana’s rural areas by creating a culture of reading among the youth that will empower them intellectually and enable them tell their own story.
In January 2011, Readworm partnered with Worldreader.org to help develop the critical reading skills of students in Adeiso Senior High School, using the Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Devices, as part of Worldreader.org’s iRead trial. Worldreader.org is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to make digital books available to all in the developing world. They identify schools, train teachers, work with communities and partner with publishers to bring millions of books to under-served children and families in developing countries. The books are made accessible using electronic book technology, e-readers. Worldreader.org chose Adeiso Senior High School for their iRead pilot project. The school, with a student population of approximately 1500, is a rural public day school, with partial boarding facilities and a mini library. It is situated in the West Akim district about 52km and 90 minutes from Accra. Presently, there are sixty-five (65) Adeiso students participating in the iRead trial and this is where Ashesi student volunteers come into the picture.
Readworm organized Ashesi student volunteers to serve as Kindle tutors, teaching Adieso students how to use the Kindle devices and leading reading activities. When Ashesi students arrived in Adeiso, they were split up and individually assigned to a group of Adeiso students by a ratio of one (1) Ashesi student to three (3) Adeiso students. In the groups, the students read a story from the e-Reader and discussed its themes from a broader perspective. Adeiso students were encouraged to contribute to the discussion and thereby work on their speaking skills. Based on these group activities, Ashesi students were able to identify gaps in the abilities of Adeiso students in spoken and written English. At the end of the day, Ashesi students were able to impart techniques to guide the Adeiso students to study, build their vocabulary and to apply what they learn in the classroom to challenges in their everyday lives. Subsequent visits to Adeiso Senior High School have helped the Adeiso students boost their confidence in speaking English, as they are eager to share with Ashesi students what new lessons they have learnt since their last interaction. The Adeiso students say that the e-Readers make reading enjoyable and have often suggested books they would like to read and discuss.
Worldreader.org’s country manager, Joseph Botwey, said that Ashesi students have been brilliant so far because “you make the students feel like they matter and this boosts their confidence level and helps them open up to talk about issues that affect them. This is what we are looking for! The students want you back!”
Readworm is also grateful to Worldreader.org for this collaboration and to Ashesi University for the continuous support.
