Spread the Joy of Reading in Rural Nepal

NEW:  Celebrate World Read Aloud Day With Us  

World Read Aloud Day is Wednesday, February 3.

We'll be sharing some of our favorite stories with children at our schools in remote areas of Nepal. 

You can support our work and get a cool, limited edition graphic T-shirt. All for a donation of $25!

Shirts are available in men's and women's styles.

Share a book with children who have none

Improve literacy for children in remote villages

Discovering a new book is exciting for readers of all ages, especially children.  Your parents probably read you bedtime stories.  Maybe you read aloud to your own children and know the joy it brings.  

In Nepal, however, children’s books are scarce, despite a rich oral tradition of rhymes, stories and songs. Publishers are few and teachers have no experience or training in how to read aloud to children as a learning activity.

While schools are shut during the pandemic, we've started to publish our own quality books for kids to read at home. Your donation supports local Nepali authors and artists (including our own teachers!) to write, illustrate and publish original children's books in Nepali with culturally appropriate Nepali settings and characters. Our first three titles will be published in early 2021.

Research shows that classroom read-aloud and independent reading are the most important predictors of future academic success for children.  Not to mention the hours of enjoyment it provides.  We want to improve literacy and spread the joy of reading to children in rural Nepal.

Publishing books is a joint effort with our partner in Nepal, Kakshyalaya. Together, we have developed a teacher training program to:

• introduce teachers to Nepali children’s literature
• train teachers in effective read-aloud techniques
• help teachers introduce regular read-aloud times into their daily schedules

 We have installed classroom libraries with:

• books and bookshelves
• tables and carpets for reading corners
• policies to allow students to borrow books to take home

“The read-aloud training was important in that it made me realize how powerful it can be. We have seen its effects in our children. Within one month of regular reading aloud, enthusiasm among students has increased a lot. Students want to read aloud to their friends, teachers and their parents.”            -- Kauma Kafle, principal of Bal Jyoti Secondary School in Kavre district 

How your donation will be put to work:

$25: bundle of 10 children's books  

$50: 1 box of children’s books

$75: carpets and cushions for a reading corner

$100: low reading tables for young children

$150: classroom bookshelves

$250: one-day (socially distanced) read-aloud training workshop for 5-8 teachers

$500: classroom book corner (bookshelves, books, low tables and chairs, floor cushions)

Here are some of the ways our read-aloud program makes a difference: 

Unique in rural Nepal

We are committed to improving the quality of education for children in rural areas of the country. Where we work, in the Kathmandu Valley, our teacher training program is unique, because few organizations that share our philosophy offer training outside of big cities.

We also make a serious effort to support our teachers as professionals. Beyond offering free training sessions and classroom materials, we ask educators for their opinions. Some components of our training have come from suggestions by teachers and community members.

Making books together

As part of the practice of reading aloud in the classroom, we encourage teachers to create books with their students, using easily accessible materials like kite paper, fabric, cloth, thread and glue.

During training workshops, teachers have a chance to make their own books. Then they learn techniques for writing, illustrating and binding texts so they can conduct bookmaking activities with their students.

Teachers tell us students are better able to relate to each other and more confident about expressing themselves as a result of writing their own stories.

Children’s literature festivals

Two-day literature festivals are the culminating event of our training program. They promote reading habits in students but also give parents and community members an opportunity to visit schools and learn more about the value of reading aloud with children.

Before the festival, we deliver books, bookshelves and reading tables along with packages of stationary and play materials like classroom blocks. Past festivals have attracted hundreds of people—school management committee members and local officials in addition to students, teachers, and parents.

Everyone is invited to read and make their own book as well as attend a ceremony recognizing the teachers who have completed our training.  We hope to resume festivals in fall 2021.

Thank you for your support in helping us to share the tradition of reading to children!