Last week, the ghetto of Nsambya Gogonya played host to the first ever Books and Beats in the Ghetto event. The day was punctuated by such oomph and merry making.
For the children in the Ghetto, the event was the first glimmer of hope that the public is indeed paying attention to their lack of Education.
To the attendants, it was a fulfilling experience that will forever stay with them.
The event was hosted by Read To Learn Foundation but also brought together a team from Tubayo (an events booking app) and a group of friends who chose to celebrate their Birthday by giving back to the Ghetto.
First, the visiting members were welcomed by the literacy champions (young girls who teach younger girls in the ghetto under the Read To Learn program,) who explained how their interventions work.
“Most of the children here have never attended school because our parents can’t afford it. Through the books we get from Read To Learn foundation, we learn and pass on basic reading, writing and numeracy skills to the younger children in the Ghetto,” explained Christine Adikini, one of the literacy champions.
After the introduction to the programs, the real experience started. Both the visiting and ghetto teams combined to form teams that competed in a number of literacy games like spelling bees, counting etc. It was as thrilling as it was baffling, how challenging and knowledgeable the literacy champions were.
A team member from Tubayo was stunned when put on the spot to spell the word “echinoderm’ by Doreen, one of the literacy champions. He hadn’t seen that coming and his team lost that bout.
Later, the visiting team was treated to an array of dance performances from the different class members in the ghetto. They took turns in showing off their dance skills, much to the excitement of the visiting teams.
Shortly after, it was lunch. The birthday girls cut cake with the ghetto children, and also shared lunch with them. Which is when the DJs from East Africa Records, DJ Mydnyt and DJ Annitrax then took over, mesmerizing everyone with their selection of music.
Everyone hit the dance floor and started vibing to their music. Later, the visitors and ghetto children would engage in dance battles and more impromptu performances were created. It was the ghetto after all.
Everything was dictated by the vibes, and it seemed they were right for a good time.According to Mago Hasfa, the Executive Director of Read To Learn Foundation, the experience is a fun way to promote literacy development in the underprivileged communities of Uganda.
Books and Beats in the Ghetto
The Books and Beats in the Ghetto is an experience curated by Read To Learn Foundation to raise awareness about the low literacy development levels in the country. The experience enables attendants to have fun, but for the good cause of providing learning materials to the children in the ghetto.
The attendants book through the Tubayo app at 50,000ugx each for every group of 10, after which the money is used to facilitate the buying of text books, story books, pens, pencils, charts, math toys among others.
