The Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, says the Samira Empowerment Humanitarian Project (SEHP), has through the library in a box project, donated over 200,000 books to 64 basic schools across the country since its inception.
The project, it is estimated, will benefit over four hundred thousand school pupils across the country.
Speaking at the refurbishment and retooling of the modern library at the Kanda cluster of schools in the Greater Accra Region, Samira Bawumia said the project is aimed at inculcating a culture of reading among pupils in the country.
“Today is an exciting day for me as an advocate of reading since I am gradually on course to empowering the next generation of critical thinkers. It is for this reason that my not-for-profit organization, as part of promoting the culture of reading, has embarked on the retooling and refurbishment of the library at the Kanda cluster of schools, and we have donated over 200,000 books across the country to over 64 basic schools. It is expected that over 400,000 basic school pupils will benefit from reading the books,” she explained.
She noted that the Samira Empowerment Humanitarian Project will continue to push the agenda of reading among students in the country, adding that the project is aimed at bringing reading to the doorstep of students.
The SEHP project has a capacity of over sixty with an ICT hub and five computers that are aimed at blending reading with information technology.
“I hope that this centre will be a source of inspiration for pupils and also encourage them to read,” Samira Bawumia added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Library Authority, Hayford Siaw, on his part, indicated that the Ghana Library Authority will support the project to ensure its success.
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According to him, the project has, in a way, supported a number of libraries in the country, adding that since he took over as CEO, the number of public libraries has increased while the number of books on shelves across the country have also increased.
“We have managed to increase the number of public libraries from sixty-one to one hundred and fifteen, while the number of books on the shelves of public libraries, which were only three hundred thousand, has increased to 1.3 million,” Hayford Siaw noted.
He urged the pupils in the cluster to continue to support the project by patronizing the library through reading.
“The Ghana Library Authority will support the project by keeping an eye on it to make sure it is maintained in good condition, but as kids, you are fortunate because you not only get to benefit from the books in a box project but also from a complete library, which shows the Second Lady’s dedication to your school. What you can do as children is to support her by reading the books, ” he said.