Mavin Records Supports the Young Bookworms for International Literacy Day

Yinka Olatunbosun

To mark the 2021 World Literacy Day, Mavin Records in partnership with the Young Bookworms thrilled out-of-school children in A gala community, Apapa, with a series of activities in Lagos. The Young Bookworms, an NGO that is supporting displaced children to access basic education have adopted the indigent community of Tarkwa Bay since 2018. After the Tarkwa Bay eviction of January 2020 that displaced over 2,000 families, most settled in a neighbouring community called ‘Agala’.

Young BookWorms and its partners have committed about N2m to construct a Learning Resources Centre (LRC) for the children in Agala which was formally launched on August 14. The Learning Resource Centre has become a hub providing basic education for the displaced children in the community.

The Mavin Records team, led by her Head of Human Resources, Jennifer Imion paid a visit to the community and students on the International Literacy Day. The Learning Resource Centre is an enclave bristling with the typically excited chatter of young students. It is furnished with recyclable materials and converted into functional space elements. ‘They were made by the children’, Mr Godson Emezi, the project’s coordinator said during a guided tour.

During a book reading session, Jennifer Imion engaged the students in conversations about moral values, their hobbies and conducted a mini talent show.

The team also met with the community head on how the students can gain better exposure through community growth and some extracurricular activities. The African entertainment powerhouse sponsored a spelling bee competition, rewarding the winners with an all-expense-paid trip to do some back-to-school shopping, a stop at the cinema, and the amusement park.

“The visit and sponsorship align with our vision of intellectual and personal development of the African Child. This is the first time the children have left their local community. The visit made the children know that people outside there cared about them and that the society is broad and waiting for them to explore,” Emezi said.