Children’s reading day set for tomorrow

The Ministry of Sports and Culture through Rwanda Library Services in partnership with Arise Education has organised a children’s reading day dubbed “Smart Kids Think Smart” to enhance kids’ reading culture in Rwanda.The one day event will be held at Petit Stade, Remera. It will feature various activities such as a children’s fashion show, spelling bee competition, storytelling, reading competition, poem reciting and sketches among others. The event will also be used to launch the Arise Kids Magazine where over 90% of the content will be written by children below 10 years. It will be a platform for children to express their views on diverse areas like spirituality, poems, sports, bedtime stories, and many more.According to the Managing Director, Arise Education, Mutesi Gasana, the event is aimed at promoting the reading culture of young children through various activities.“We are organising a fashion show for children on this day because we want to use entertainment to communicate a message of reading to the children without boring them,” she saidGasana added that they are also launching a magazine to instil a writing culture in children arguing that without writers there would be nothing to read.“In the kids’ magazine, we are making children write stories for other kids. And we feel that for you to have a reading culture you need to be able to write, so the magazine is going to be a platform to make kids love to read and write,” Gasana explains.10 schools will fully participate in all the activities with each sending representation of five pupils while 20 boys and girls from different schools will take part in the fashion show.The best performing kids will receive various prizes at the event whose entrance is free.More than 50 schools have been invited to attend this event that is going to be held every term.Gasana also disclosed that they are working on a plan to hold these activities across the country before crowning it with an annual event bringing all the schools together.