Inside Our Bookclub: How We Encourage a Reading Culture

Lateefat Samodu was a pupil of Police Children Primary School when she was enlisted into HoodProf bookclubs over two years ago. We had no clue about her educational ability but just like the other kids, her only qualification for being a member of our bookclub is the fact that she lives in an underserved community where many kids do not know what a library looks like and the odds against them is stacked high and they do not know whether the education they are currently receiving worth a thing.

First, we brought these kids together for the launch of our flagship bookclub centre, the Woke Soyinka Centre, with some of their teachers and parents joining them to witness a first of its kind event in their community. Many of them received their very first storybooks at this event and we could see the joy on their faces.

Mushroom schools are everywhere in most underserved communities as absence of basic government amenities or infrastructure is noticeable. The parents/guardians of these kids were equally thrilled for their children/wards joining the bookclub as such a thing is novel not just in the school these children attend but also in their community.

Having received storybooks the next thing is to keep up with the progress these kids are making in the absence of a regular bookclub meeting by visiting them at home to enquire about the books they’ve been reading and the progress they are making.

In terms of quantitative education across Nigeria we have seen remarkable improvement as millions of our children have gained access to basic education, but the same cannot be for the quality. One of the ways to test quality in our educational system, especially at the basic level, is to expose the kids to some form of external competitions amongst their peers. This informed why we started the HoodProf Spelling Bee competition with the inaugural edition taking place lon December 28, 2024.

Lateefat Samodu, who won the contest, is now on full scholarship which will take her through her secondary education having already sponsored her last level in primary school.

Attention to early child development (ECD) is key to developing a child academically as it was discovered in a research carried out in Jamaica where children whose mother’s were taught ways in which to promote cognitive, physical, and emotional development during their child’s early years, earn an average 42% more as young adults than children who were not in the test group.