ZAM 32 - READING OUR VALUES

The project will reach, as a pilot project, four secondary schools in four different provinces of Zambia, namely: Chipata, Kabwe, Monze and Ndola.

The poor culture of reading and the loss of traditional cultural values is a great challenge in Zambia. This is a serious problem among young people and teens. The influence of social media platforms has not helped the situation. In addition, the transmission and assimilation of cultural and universal values - which equip young people to face life - have decreased due to many social factors, including the weak family context and the lack of educational strategies that favor a more integrated development of young people in schools.The project aims to achieve two objectives at the same time: to promote the culture of reading and cultivate values among adolescents in secondary schools.
This will be done by supporting the training and monitoring of reading groups in four colleges. The groups, coordinated by two tutors each, will organize reading sessions that will promote human, cultural and universal values through reading and discussions. In addition, reading and conversation will improve the beneficiaries' written and spoken English and their understanding. The task is to provide adolescents with a new vision of the meaning of reading, considering it a source of education and entertainment at the same time. It is a question of educating young people in a critical attitude and a free thought to face the challenges of life. By reading and sharing together, boys and girls will be encouraged to assimilate values such as respect, justice, tolerance, responsibility, perseverance and solidarity.

Reading together will strengthen the confidence of girls, often relegated to the background compared to boys.In addition to reading materials provided by tutors/s, the project will encourage young people to seek relevant readings that promote values and create a sharing point within the group. The strategy will give young people the opportunity to read extensively individually, search and research, and share reading materials with the group. In this way, adolescents will be able to develop skills of selection, organization and evaluation of reading materials, as well as actual reading skills.The project will cover the preparation of the syllabus by a steering group, the training of tutors through workshops, the grant for transport and accommodation costs for three mentors who will go to their respective schools to launch the project and to monitor it, the printing of the syllabus booklet, the purchase of selected basic books for each group, stationery, photocopies and communication.

• Facilitate group reading to bring teenagers closer to reading
• Improve the level of English in all its forms
• Develop values and cultivate self-confidence

Direct: About 200 young people (on average 50 in each school) and 8 adult mentors

Indirect: about 800 young people (on average 200 in each school).

A network of collaboration between 5 religious congregations will also be developed. 

Referent sister of the project Sr Guadalupe Mancilla Nunez