In this story, Dr. Anu Narula, a member of the Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group (BELRAG) Board of Directors and BELRAG Ambassador for District 6910, shares several book donation projects. Rotary clubs around the world can implement these projects at a relatively low cost to promote early learning and basic literacy through the love for book reading among elementary school children in our home districts and in global communities on the African continent.
The Magic of Rotary infuses our lives with the power of love, hope, joy, and peace, just like the magic of the holidays. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah in the month of December, let’s explore the possibilities of helping our communities rejoice and celebrate the gift of literacy this holiday. In my vocation as a Rotarian with a background in education, and in my passion as a mother of two who inculcated the love for reading for both her children by reading a large number of books from the local library and from the Imagination library to both of them at a very early age, I consider the opportunities to promote literacy to be a treasured quotient of my experience. As the following graphic illustrates, the curious brains of children in our elementary schools play a critical role in all-round child development, as they absorb the avenues of age-appropriate knowledge and information by reading books, which becomes the foundation of their lifelong learning habits in innovative ways {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310550/}.
Reading books is also the single most vital mechanism for students, parents, and teachers to bridge the learning gap in diverse segments of our communities. According to Past Rotary International President (2021-22) Shekhar Mehta, “One of the ways in which you can make the greatest change in a person’s life is to help them learn to read. Literacy opens up the world to us. It makes us better informed about life in our own communities and opens vistas to other cultures. Reading and writing connect people and give us another way to express our love for one another.” {https://rotary7070.org/stories/rotary-international-president-shekhar-mehta-s-september-2021-newsletter}
With help from the Rotary Foundation, Rotarians worldwide are making huge investments in the future of our school-going children and their families with projects that will change their lives by providing them with tools for enhancing their basic literacy and education (BEL) skills. Along with this, the Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group is playing a critical role in promoting and supporting BEL projects that will have a long-term and wide-ranging impact on empowering communities for using education as a catalyst for all-round growth. Some of these projects are also providing digital infrastructure and supporting the use of technology to improve the sustainable quality and inclusive outreach of education in communities around the world. Some of the partners of BELRAG, like the Rotary India Literacy Mission, A Global Vision for Autism, mEducation Alliance, Save the Children, and Speaking Books have done path breaking and pioneering work by supporting and promoting the goals of BELRAG for uplifting vulnerable communities around the world through the power of literacy and education.
As Rotarians, we can play a significant role in promoting literacy through a whole range of programs and projects in different Rotary districts in our respective communities. This holiday season, we can plan to act on a couple of projects that can help our children inculcate their love for reading by learning about the ideals of Rotary, and help children in underprivileged communities in Tanzania and Rwanda to enjoy reading books that are rich in reflections on their native culture.
This holiday season, on behalf of the Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group, I implore Rotary clubs around the world to celebrate the season of giving by embracing a couple of book donation projects called the Rotary Ideals Literacy Project and the Afrikan Baby Book Project. Both of these projects will permeate the lives of our children in our communities and in the grassroots communities in Rwanda and Tanzania with a sense of joy and wonder that is integral to the theme of “Magic of Rotary” given to us by current Rotary International President (2024-25) Stephanie Urchick. As a Rotarian and a lifelong educator, I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to get to know a writer and a Non-Profit Activist through my friends in Rotary. These two passionate and talented individuals have impacted countless young lives with the gift of literacy.
In the course of my term as the Literacy Chair (2023-24) of D6910, I had the honor of inviting Dottie Meade, the District Governor (2024-25) of D6670 to one of our monthly meetings. DG Dottie is an eminent educator and administrator who introduced me to Andrew J. Shoup, a writer and a Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Fairborn, Ohio in District 6670. Andrew is a very talented writer of children’s books who decided to convert his passion for writing into a medium for enabling our elementary school children to learn about two integral ideals of Rotary viz. the “Four Way Test” and “Service above Self.” What started as a book writing project with a purpose has now become a highly successful Rotary project embraced by clubs in US and Canada. The following website has project details, testimonials, and contact information {https://www.rotaryidealsliteracy.com/home.html} that will enable clubs to have a detailed outlook on the ways in which this project can be implemented. The following video is a helpful resource on how this project can benefit your community {https://www.rotaryidealsliteracy.com/presentation.html}.
In September this year, BELRAG celebrated the successful BEL projects being done around the world by inviting Rotarians and speakers from around the world to showcase some of these outstanding projects in a series of webinars. This is how I met Wandi Steward who founded the Afrikan Baby Book project as a part of the World Space Foundation in the year 2020, when the world was battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Wandi is a very committed world traveler whose interface with primary school children in Arusha, Tanzania ensued into the realization that the books being read by the children lacked in reflections on the enriching experiences and ideals of the African way of life. Since 2020, the Afrikan Baby Book virtual book drive has delivered more than 3500 Afrikan-inspired books to 14 villages, 6 literacy centers, 2 beauty salons, 2 Little Free libraries, 2 Day Care Centers and 2 primary schools in Rwanda and Tanzania. It gives me joy to share that Rotary clubs in my home state of Georgia have participated in this book drive, along with Rotary clubs in Michigan and Texas, besides Delta Airlines. The following website is a helpful resource and has contact information for Rotary clubs to explore and implement a project that inheres the promise for promoting literacy by “Sparking Curiosity and Inspiring Confidence” among elementary school children in a grassroots level communities in Africa {https://worldspacefoundation.org/afrikan-baby-book-project/}.
In conclusion, it makes sense to quote the words of Past R.I. President (2021-22) Shekhar Mehta, once again, “Empowering people through education is among the boldest goals we have as Rotarians.” Amen.