A March mum is on a mission to send children’s books to orphanages and schools in Africa in a project she set up two years ago called Love Books.
Inspired by her four year old daughter Lenewa, who loves children’s stories, Musama Heppell, wanted to help provide reading material for young people in Zambia and Tansania.
She said: “I’m originally from Zambia and my sister and I used to help in the orphanages while out there.
“My sister still lives there and still volunteers so I get to hear about the desperate shortage of good books, many teenagers can’t read and yet this is a life basic that will help them in their future.
“I spoke to my husband and a few other people and two years ago set up the Love Books Project.
“We have previously worked with Saint Andrews High School in Lusaka and have now created new partnerships with two more orphanages called Face of Child and Kabwata Orphanage who desperately need books.”
The news of their work is spreading and an orphanage, which has 10,000 children in several locations, contacted Musama for help in getting reading material.
“The orphanage group is called Engedi, there are so many children abandoned, many due to the HIV situation.
“This organisation has been running for 14 years and are in desperate need of books and volunteers that is why they reached out to us.
“Our literacy programme centres around the importance of reading and helping to transform children’s lives.
“The ability to read is the first fundamental building block in developing broader literacy skills which in turn enables children and young people to fulfil their potential and one day play a full part in the economy.
“Alongside the books we send, we also instruct our volunteers to use phonics as a method to teach children to read and write English.
“The Love Books Project wants to build a strong foundation in literacy as we feel that this is key to developing a child’s imagination and ability to write.”
• If you have books then they can be dropped off to Bee Healthy in High Street or contact Musama on 01354 279 129 or www.lovebooks.org.uk.
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