Iganga Rotary rolls out campaign to promote reading culture

IGANGA, UGANDA: The Rotary Club of Iganga have commenced a campaign dubbed ‘Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) to improve reading culture among children and adults.

The DEAR approach according to Rotarians is aimed at creating a culture which will increase people’s knowledge through reading information.

Under the programme, members of Rotary clubs in Iganga will dedicate an hour every week to supervise reading and literacy classes in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools.

Speaking on Thursday during an engagement with a number of pupils at the municipal council primary school in Iganga, Ms Prossy Balaba, the President of Iganga Rotary club revealed that most people don’t like reading information but it’s very important.

She added that reading information from books, signposts, banners, brochures, newspapers, magazines, and the like creates knowledge about health, the economy, and education, among others.

“We’re here to put emphasis on reading and we want to create a culture of reading in both children and adults. Most people don’t associate with reading information but every piece of information matters, so we’re here to remind you that reading is key in seeking information and knowledge,” Prossy Balaba.

The Rotary president however advised parents to provide their children with good information for reading since some reading materials are not holistic and end up diverting children from the right path.

“As we advocate for children to read books, we should know that some information is not good. So, parents should check the information in books and other reading materials before recommending them for their children to read,” Balaba said before urging parents to ensure that all children value the reading culture.

Some of the children who attended the engagement commended Rotarians for teaching them that reading is key in the process of seeking knowledge.

Kagoya Amina, a pupil in primary five at St. Joseph primary school in Iganga says they taught them to improve their reading culture.

Nabirye Sophie Shilat and Muwumuza Galatian from Iganga municipal council p/s commended the Rotary club for gifting them with reading materials and urged fellow pupils to copy the culture of reading.

Meanwhile, Ms Balikowa Zahara, a teacher at municipal council p/s appreciated Rotary club for teaching children that reading yields knowledge. She also pledged total effort in promoting a reading culture in their children, before commending Rotarians for the encouragement rendered to children through prizes like books, and other scholastic materials to best readers.