My name is Tamala Phiri and I teach at a primary school in the town of Lundazi in Zambia’s eastern province. Our 500 learners come from rural communities affected by extreme poverty.  

Pupils often come to school on empty stomachs and walk a long way to get here. There’s also a treacherous stream that stops some children coming to school until they’re old enough to cross it safely.  

We’re striving to do our best for every one of them, despite our lack of resources. We’re short of everything from teachers, to hands-on learning materials, to furniture. But especially books to help our youngest students learn to read for pleasure. 

As a teacher, I would say books that spark the joy of reading are the best gift anyone could give a child. They’re a ticket to literacy – the foundation of achievement in school.

Until a little while ago, the only age-appropriate ‘books’ my pupils had were teaching aids I’d made myself. I would paste cut-out figures onto sheets of manila paper and hold them up so the whole class could see them.

We started by taking just one book. The children sat on the floor, and I showed the picture on the cover to them and asked them to talk about what they felt was inside. Many ideas came tumbling out!

Then, as they sat there spellbound, I read them the story. After we did this for each book, I let them choose whichever one they wanted. Sometimes they just wanted to look at the pictures and make up stories to go with them. Their stories were often funny, which added to the enjoyment. 

But as we read the same books again and again – as young children love to do – they started to know the words by heart. Quite naturally, they began to match them to the words written in the books. 

My pupils have been fortunate. They’re becoming readers because they have books to inspire them. Across our community, and in many others around the world, so many children don’t have access to books. That’s why I wanted to share our story.

Images ©BookAidInternational/LoliwePhiri/SimpactFoundation.

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