Since it was established in 2009, the Islamic Heritage Public School is the only bilingual school in Lofa County. It caters to 182 students. However, despite its unique niche, it has been lacking a library, including a space for students to read, do homework and study.
As part of furthering its mission to provide as many public schools with safe, stocked and conducive mini-libraries, on October 11, 2024, the Kids’ Educational Engagement Project (KEEP-Liberia), dedicated its 37th Reading Room at the school.
Speaking at the dedication of the KEEP-Liberia Reading Room for the school, on behalf of the Minister of Education, Mr. John S. Sallay, County Education Officer (CEO) of Lofa County, expressed his happiness for the reading room and exclaimed “If you were to split my heart, you would find that I’m the happiest because one who reads is knowledgeable.”
He assured KEEP-Liberia that his team would monitor and supervise the reading room to ensure it is maintained and used for its intended purpose. He also added that he would work with the school administration to have students appear on the radio to showcase the impact of the donated books and the reading room, at large.
Speaking at the event on behalf of the school administration, Vice Principal for Administration, Mr. Valayee S. Jarbateh extended thanks and appreciation to KEEP-Liberia for undertaking the groundbreaking initiative intended to improve the quality of educational outcomes of the school. He expressed the challenges faced in acquiring reading books for students and promised that the reading room would be operational daily, affirming that it would be their core responsibility to care for all the donated books and the reading facility.
The new KEEP-Liberia Reading Room was stocked with a combination of Arabic books and English books worth approximately U$2614 and the creation of the reading room cost approximately $3,500, thus making the total value of the project U$6,114. The books include bilingual leisure story books, Alphabet books, a book of 200 first words, Arabic dictionary, as well as flashcards for early learners.
Also making remarks at the dedication, KEEP-Liberia’s Executive Director, Mrs. Brenda Brewer Moore, thanked donors and supporters of KEEP-Liberia, highlighting KEEP’s literacy pillar, particularly the organization’s passion and keen intention to create and enhance reading rooms for children. With mini-libraries established in 12 counties. She expressed the need to extend this initiative to Lofa County by establishing two reading rooms in the county, which makes Sinoe and River Gee counties the only two counties that are, as yet, without KEEP’s reading rooms.
A few months ago, on an assessment mission during a visit to Lofa, the KEEP-Liberia Founder and Executive Director observed that the Islamic Heritage Public School, the only Islamic school in the district, lacked a reading facility and books leading her to decide to include it in her plans, bringing the total to three reading rooms that funds were to be raised for. Now that the reading room has been finalized, she urged the students to read the books, emphasizing that they were purchased for their use, and she also encouraged teachers to incorporate them into their Arabic lessons. She also assured the school that more Arabic books would be sent once KEEP-Liberia can obtain them. Additionally, she mentioned that a further assessment would be conducted at the end of the first semester to evaluate how well the students are writing and utilizing the Islamic books.
Attending the event was also the City Mayor of Zorzor City, Yanquoi Dolo, Mr. Mamudu F. Nyeih, Chairman of the National Muslim Council, Zorzor Branch, members of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) as well as key stakeholders within the Zorzor district.
Mr. Mohamed V. Kamara, PTA representative, expressed his gratitude to KEEP, the Ministry of Education, and the school. He further added how pleased the PTA body is about the reading room and the Islamic books, as parents have struggled to obtain such resources to assist students in their studies.
KEEP-Liberia again extends thanks and appreciation to all the well-meaning friends of KEEP who donated towards the project, and urges parents, teachers, and educational administrators to steadfastly commit to literacy in the country, especially improving the passion for reading of students and all children.
The dedication of this Reading Room brings to 38, the number of mini-libraries the organization has established since 2016.
To learn more about their work, visit their blog www.keepliberia.com and visit their social media pages at Kids Educational Engagement Project- KEEP Liberia across all social media platforms.
