Judith’s Reading Room’s 100th Library – Ziga Primary School (Finally) Opens

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Cathy Leiber
www.JudithsReadingRoom.org

Ziga Primary School (Finally) Opens its Judith’s Reading Room Library

Deadline for 2021 Freedom Through Literacy Award Applications is July 1, 2021

 June 1, 2021 — Word came today that the 100th Judith’s Reading Room Library had finally opened.  The books made a long journey from Durban in South Africa where they were purchased, up to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.  From Victoria Falls, they traveled 230 kilometers (143 miles) to Ziga, located south of Hwange National Park on the western boundary of Zimbabwe, where 150 boys and girls, ages 5-14 will benefit from early reading books full of locally relevant stories, full of pictures and bright colors.

Judith’s Reading Room partnered with the African non-profit organization, Children in the Wilderness, winner of its 2019 Freedom Through Literacy Award Board Option Prize.   Thus began our relationship with Children in the Wilderness.  In 2020, Judith’s Reading Room and Children in the Wilderness agreed to dedicate a Judith’s Reading Room library, knowing that it would be the organization’s 100th library in its 22nd country.  Ziga Primary School, described as an outstanding pillar in their community — as its library also doubles as an adult literacy center — was chosen.  The original plan was to dedicate the library in August 2020, but the pandemic got in the way.  Schools in Zimbabwe closed in March 2020; children just returned to school for the first-time in a year.

A donation of US$500 to Children in the Wilderness resulted in the purchase of 113 level-specific books. Due to low literacy levels in southern African schools, books to help students learn to read and gain comprehension skills were of paramount importance.  “The distribution of these books came as such a welcome surprise to the teachers and students at Ziga,” said Sarah Adams, Children in the Wilderness’s Community Sustainability & Evaluation Trainer.  Sue Goatley, the organization’s Program Manager added, “We would like to say a huge thank you to Judith’s Reading Room for this wonderful gift that will continue to inspire children at Ziga for years to come.”

The mission of Judith’s Reading Room is to enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy.  To date, the organization has fulfilled that mission by establishing 101 libraries in 22 countries with more than 130,000 books donated worth US$1.4 million.

Applications for the 2021 Freedom Through Literacy Award, the organization’s signature annual event, is posted on its website at www.judithsreadingroom.org. The deadline for applications is fast approaching:  July 1, 2021.  Winners will be announced by the end of July.

 

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