10,000 CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO BE DISTRIBUTED ACROSS SAN FERNANDO UNDER NEW LITERACY INITIATIVE Ten thousand children’s books are set to reach young readers, schools and communities in San Fernando following the launch of a new literacy initiative aimed at expanding access to reading material. Books Build Bridges has partnered with the City of San Fernando on the Child-Friendly Literacy Initiative, with the 10,000 books provided by Better World Books. The programme was formally launched on September 8, International Literacy Day, with children, educators, community leaders and literacy advocates participating in the event. Representatives from the Ministry of Education, the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS), as well as schools in and around San Fernando, were also among those in attendance. The books will be distributed to benefit children, schools and communities, with organisers hoping to increase access to age-appropriate reading material and encourage young people to make reading part of their everyday lives.
Candice McMillan, Founder and Managing Director of Books Build Bridges, said the initiative is based on the belief that improving literacy begins with ensuring children actually have access to books. “A book can open an entire world to a child, but first that child must be able to hold one in their hands,” McMillan said. She said the San Fernando programme builds on the organisation’s previous work in Jamaica and Panama and forms part of efforts to expand access to books across the Caribbean and Latin America. The initiative also ties into San Fernando’s wider effort to become a more child-friendly city. San Fernando is Trinidad and Tobago’s first pilot municipality under UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Cities Initiative. The programme seeks to create communities where children are safe, included and able to access opportunities and services, while ensuring their needs and voices are considered in local decision-making.
Mayor of San Fernando Robert Parris said literacy is fundamental to the city’s vision for its children. He said creating a child-friendly San Fernando requires investment not only in the physical spaces used by children, but also in their education, imagination and ability to see possibilities for their futures. The mayor also indicated that the programme is intended to continue beyond International Literacy Day. Activities under the initiative are expected to run through San Fernando City Month in November, including a student debate and a student-led community mural project celebrating the city. The mural is expected to give young people an opportunity to create a lasting piece shaped by their own ideas and imagination. Better World Books President and CEO Dustin Holland said access to books plays an important role in literacy, learning and opportunity, with the organisation providing all 10,000 books for the initiative. The partnership represents a significant injection of reading material for children at the beginning of the new school term and forms part of a broader effort to strengthen literacy, youth engagement and community development in San Fernando. Organisers say the ultimate goal is not simply to distribute thousands of books, but to build a longer-term culture in which more children have opportunities to read, learn and participate in their communities.
