Between May 16th to May 20th, the award ceremonies for the reading program “Leaders are Readers” took place in the Korsimoro, Kaya, Kongoussi, Sabcé, Rouko, Karaba and Boni libraries. This program was initiated by the library of the United States Embassy in Burkina Faso in collaboration with Friends of African Village Libraries (FAVL). Its main objectives are to encourage students to frequent libraries and to read. This year, 274 students participated, their grades ranging from middle school to high school. During the three months of the program, participants were able to read at their own pace. The best reader of this year is a student of the 6th grade of Rouko County High School, and he read 265 books. Students were very appreciative and excited about the program at the award ceremonies.
Participants shared their thoughts on books they read:
- Sawadogo Issaka in Korsimoro liked “The Wind of Love” by Joël Ouédraogo. The author discusses the behavior of schoolchildren who love each other and don’t listen to advice from their parents. As a consequence, they found themselves in messy situations.
- Ouango Soungalo in Kaya loved “The Pieces of Wood of God” by Sembene Ousmane. Through this book, he discovered that for a while African workers were paid poorly during construction work in Dakar. He believes that hard work should equal fair wages.
- Domboué N Monique in Karaba did not like “Baba the Rapper Student” by Koura K Sylvie. She believes that parents must take care of their children, and she was frustrated when Baba joined a bad crowd in high school, became a spoiled child, and ended up in jail.
- Sawadogo Abdoul Bachirou in Sabcé liked “The Academic Success of Becherou”. The author tells the story of a student from a poor family who strives to be the first of his class among the children of rich families. This student held the head of his class during his first class of school and won all the high school awards. Sawadogo Abdoul said he felt personally encouraged after reading of the novel.
Congratulations to all the participants!
