World Book Day 2017
Our kids love reading. Books bring our children so much joy as they broaden their imagination and discover delight in immersing themselves in a story. Books expand our children’s knowledge and encourage their personal learning.
In all our projects we teach our kids to read. In the communities in which they live, many children are illiterate and as a result are often trapped in child labour with little hope of escaping poverty. But our kids have their individual needs provided for by Stand by Me and their sponsors and are free to spend time reading books, a privilege that many of them would never had experienced if they were not in our care.
We love hearing about our children’s individual interests and asked our kids around the world what they like about reading and what their favourite book is:
Ngaineivah, age 18, has been cared for at our Agape Home in Moreh, India, for seven years. She told us about her love of reading, which has grown since joining our care, and her favourite book.
“I like reading because it broadens my thinking horizons and I can gain knowledge in a soft way. My favourite book is Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes plays the role of a detective by using his wits and intelligence to solve mysterious cases. Reading the book is fun and truly enjoyable as it keeps me in suspense. Holmes is so intelligent in all his dealings it helps me think up new ideas to solve problems.
On the other side of the world in Colombia, it’s fact books that have caught Kaner’s attention. Kaner, age eight, attends our care centre to receive educational support, medical help and loving care. When asked about his favourite book, his keen interest shone through.
“I like to read all kind of book about dinosaurs, because they are big animals and I would like to be like one of them – big! So I can be able to help my sister, when other children bother her, to defend her. I like the book about T-Rex dinosaurs, which are the largest dinosaurs. Dinosaurs like to eat. There are some of them who eat leaves, others who eat ants and some who eat meat. I like dinosaur books because if I had been a dinosaur, I would have had fun times, because I would discover many caves.”
From Prehistoric times, to fictional lands through the wardrobe, Priya’s* favourite book is one that is dear to many. Priya*, age 14, lives at our Children’s Home in Nepal and has grown up so much since joining our care when she was just seven. Her English is excellent and our staff say she can often be found with her nose in a book!
“Reading books is my hobby. I thought my book is my friend. I like every word that it contain and has deep meanings. My favourite writers are Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis so every book written by them is my favourite book, but my favourite one is Narnia and its tales. It consists of 6 tales, I have read them all and the 2nd part is bit interesting in which four children called Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy reach the land called Narnia and meet Aslan the lion. They are my favourite books because they are about victory and battles, mystery and happiness.”
Fiction, educational books, autobiographies – our kids love all kinds of books. Claudiu, age 14, told us about his favourite book. He attends our care centre in Romania where he is helped with his studies, including his reading skills, and he gets to have fun and receive support for his needs.
“I like how stories are narrated in books. My favourite book is Childhood stories by Ion Creanga (Romanian author). This book is about true stories happened in the life of the author when he was a child. I like this book because the things happened to the author when he was a child are very similar with the stories from my life, I identify myself with the author.”
From our care centre in Romania to our school in Bekoji Ethiopia, books are helping our children like Fanose, age 13, realise their own interests. Through reading, our children can learn about all kinds of subjects to help them rise above their circumstances, pursue their dreams and change their communities.
“I like to read books to know something new. My favourite is My First Animal, about Tigers and why they are stripy. In this story, tigers are stripy to help them blend into their shadowy leafy surrounding stripes also help to hide the shape of the tiger body. When I read about animals it makes me so happy and to know what I do not know before and that is good for my knowledge.”
Happy #WorldBookDay! Why don't you ask your sponsored child what their favourite book is next time you write to them?