TYBLI Sustains Commitment To Promoting Young Adult Literacy & Expression
By Chinelo Chikelu, Abuja
The T. Y. Buratai Literary Initiative (TYBLI) has sustained its commitment to the promotion of young adult literacy and self-expression for the third consecutive year via its Book Placement Project.
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This year, the project kicked off on June 3rd at Girls Secondary School, Kubwa; continued on June 9 at Police Day Secondary School, Garki, Area 11; and rounded off on June 11 at Sound Foundation School, Lugbe, Abuja.
The Book Placement Project is one of the major projects organized by the initiative, whereby a wood and glass book box comprising 40 books from diverse genres – novels, poetry, drama, motivational books- is donated to public and private primary and secondary schools within Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The project is aimed at encouraging leisure reading and developing the speaking and writing skills of Nigerian children, teenagers, and young adults. The initiative believes that reading should not be oriented solely towards academic learning, but also towards pleasure. Reading fiction and non-fictional works helps children experience different cultures, peoples, and lifestyles, and learn from the characters’ experiences without necessarily undergoing the same tragic or devastating consequences, while also building a more empathetic citizenry.
Welcoming the TYBLI team at the Sound Foundation School, Lugbe, were the Proprietress, Mrs Christiana Babalola; Head Teacher, Augustine Ameh; and English Teacher, Mrs Susan.
The event began with an introduction of the initiative and the Book Placement Project by TYBLI Chairman, Dr Lizzy Ben-Iheanacho, who charged the children and the school to endeavour to not just read the books but to handle them with care.
Facilitator, Jachi Ben-Iheanacho, led the thirty-minute session with the students on proper book care to avoid wear and tear; in addition to educating them on kinds of literary genres, authors’ style, characterisation, and guiding them on how to review a book, as a means of obtaining the utmost knowledge/lesson from the publications.
Students like Aminat Opeyemi Mustapha, who read a poem she’d written impromptu at the event, and David, who’d summarized and identified the writing style of the author of his most recent read, a fantasy/horror novel centered around vampires, were gifted with personal copies of E.O Odiase and K.N Puinpuni’s ‘A Cry to War’. ‘A Cry of War’ is an Epic/Fantasy novel set in the 1200s AD Benin Kingdom. Same as Happiness Emmanuella Shagari and Olivia Patrick, who both participated actively in the session.
Pleased with the event, Proprietress, Mrs Babalola, appreciated the initiative’s choice of the school for the Book Placement Project, noting that, “It’s a rare occasion to have this kind of event in our school. I know my children will cherish today’s programme.”
On her part, Mrs Susan assured the TYBLI team of the students’ dedicated usage and care of the books.
She said: “I know that there is a saying that if you want to hide something from a Nigerian, hide it in a book. But I assure you that so long as I am responsible for this book box, that will not be the case. The children will read and handle these books with care”.
Thus far, the TYBLI Book Placement initiative has donated books to nine public and private schools in Abuja and Nasarawa State, as well as Girau International School, Ungwar Sarki LEA Primary School, Kaduna State, and the English Language & Literature Department, Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK).