I’m reading for fun as well as for knowledge - Ojulu (12)

Summary

Simon Ojulu (12) is a class 6 pupil who lives in Abobo woreda in Ethiopia’s Gambella region. He indulges in reading library books, while he looks to quench his thirst for knowledge now that he has returned to school.

Simon, in his words

My name is Simon Ojulu. I live in Abobo woreda with my parents and older brother. I'm a 6th grade student. For me, school is a place where one can explore the world. You can learn about the world without ever leaving your home. I used to go to the library after school. I enjoyed reading books. I don't just read books for my classes and assignment. I love reading about everything. It was such a pleasure. But, year after year, the books in the school library are becoming fewer and fewer. I couldn’t get any reference books for my class assignments, let alone pleasure reading. I couldn’t study well. Our teachers give us assignments, some-times the homework is hard, so you have to read up in order to get a better grasp of the subject. I couldn’t get such books; my grades were starting to suffer. So, I stopped going to school until the facilities were bet-ter equipped. But, last year I got some great news! Save the Children had provided an array of reading ma-terials for students like me. We even have our own reading corner in the library. I don’t plan to slow down any time soon! I have goals to further improve my English proficiency. English is one of my favourite subjects in school, aside from mathematics. Now, I have no shortage of reading materials and knowledge is plentiful. Going to the school is fun once again and I aspire to be an English teacher when I finish my studies. To sum up, my reading improvement is the least of the benefits I have gained from the establishment of this reading corner and I want to thank Save the Children and Educate A Child for this opportunity!

What Save the Children is doing to help Simon and others like him: 

Save the Children Ethiopia and Save the Children Korea in partnership with Educate A Child, a global pro-gramme of the Education Above All Foundation (EAA) have launched the “Increased Access to Quality Basic Education for OOSC in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia” project. This joint initiative works to address the barriers faced by marginalized children in both refugee and host communities, aiming to reach more than 35,000 out of school children with quality primary education, and necessary materials, such as school kits and uniforms, as well as construct classrooms and gender-segregated latrines and WASH facilities.