‘Reading is fundamental to learning’

Brenda Brewer Moore (left), founder and CEO of KEEP, and Assistant Education Minister Felecia Doe Somah cut the ribbons.

Brenda Brewer Moore (left), founder and CEO of KEEP, and Assistant Education Minister Felecia Doe Somah cut the ribbons.

Reading is fundamental to learning, without good reading skills, students cannot excel in any other subject, says Brenda Brewer Moore, founder and executive director of Kids Educational Engagement Project (KEEP), a Liberian NGO.

Speaking on Saturday, October 15 at the turning over ceremony of a reading room at the JLM Public School in Gbengar Town, outside the Liberian capital, Monrovia, she said that “reading develops the minds of children and helps them in so many ways. It helps build their vocabulary, their diction, their comprehension skills, analytical skills and their creativeness.” 

The ceremony was graced with the presence of the Minister of Education George W. Werner, Assistant Minister for Basic Education Mrs. Felecia Doe-Somah, Assistant Minister for Early Childhood Education Mrs. Yuhiko Amnon, County Education Officer (CEO) Mrs. Cecelia Reeves and District Education Officer Mr. Patrick Dortu, among other development and support partners. 

Mrs. Moore noted to invited guests that she is excited and proud that KEEP has again made another bold step in providing access to books to hundreds of school children from underprivileged backgrounds.

She informed them that KEEP does not just create the safe space and stock it with books and walk away, no, rather, the organization sticks around, long term to work with the kids in developing better reading skills. One child at a time. Week after week. 

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Mrs. Moore said “we love what we do and we are happy to have volunteers who freely and generously give their time to come by and help us work with the kids”

KEEP has promised to work with the students, the teachers and the parents in promotion a culture of reading among the children and to helping them become better readers.

KEEP also used the occasion to donate one computer to the office of the DEO to facilitate the work of the officials in the office.

Making the presentation on behalf of KEEP, the chair of KEEP’s Board of Advisors, Mrs. Chantal Wiles Doe said that few months ago while planning activities for the school, the Executive Director of KEEP, Mrs. Moore had sent several email to the DEO but had not gotten a response.

She narrated that Mrs. Moore then inquired from the DEO why was there a regular delay in reponses from his office and that is when the DEO explained that he did not have access to a computer and that most times, he had to go to an internet café to check his email account to respond to messages.

She said that is unacceptable in this day and age, so with KEEP being a developmental support partner to the Ministry of Education, it has decided to donate a brand new computer to facilitate the work of the office of the DEO to hopefully make them more efficient. 

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Making remarks at the program, Education Minister Werner commended KEEP for the laudable effort done at the school and said Liberians love education and that Liberian children want to be in school, parents are spending a lot of finances to keep their children in school.

He admonished the school, the students and members of the community to do their best to maintain the reading room in a good condition and to utilize the books. To safeguard the assets placed in the room. 

DEO Patrick Dortu encouraged the school administration to make sure they allow the students to access the books and to encourage them to come and read, not to keep the room as a beautiful unused addition.

He said he noticed that most public school administrators do not allow the students to use the MOE prescribed textbooks. He encouraged the parents to monitor the work of their children and work with the school.

The new reading room brings to two that KEEP has completed and established in 2016.  It has been completely rehabilitated, furnished and equipped with 4 brand new computers.