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Revamping reading culture through leisure, pleasure and learning
2008-08-05 09:38:23
By Lillian Mukabana-Inzira
Reading for leisure has never been a cup of tea for many in this region, In fact, the reading culture for leisure is almost a forgotten issue.
No wonder a good number of people who look like serious readers do it to pass examinations and not for leisure.
However, the recent launch of Soma book café in Dar es Salaam is hopefully set to change this trend.
Situated at the Mlingotini Close off Regent Street, the café is a hub of activities that stimulate reading, for pleasure and for knowledge acquisition.
``Reading literature is important because it enables the society to accept its values,`` says Soma Book Café Executive director Demere Kitunga, adding that this contributes to imaginative and inquisitive minds.
The executive director admits that the dearth of literature for general knowledge motivated him and a friend, Eliesha Lema to venture into publishing industry in late 80s in order to encourage people to read for knowledge, pleasure and culture development.
``Problems of poor education, lack of a reading culture, book inaccessibility and slow dissemination of ideas among other things gave us sleepless nights,`` says Kitunga.
It is from such experience and reading passion from the heart that led to the birth of E & D Readership and Development Agency which was registered in 2007.
It was established with the aim of strengthening readership and development mandate. It intends to promote reading for pleasure for independent pursuit of knowledge.
The environment around the book café is conducive for reading, while having a cup of coffee or any type of refreshment of your choice from their wine bar.
This is so to enable one enjoy reading in their beautiful gardens. The garden has a terrace with a podium where book events such as children`s theatre, reading, exhibition of talents, creative workshop for coordination of book talks and reviews will be held.
This is the first ever opportunity for schools and other learning institutions to enhance reading culture for pleasure.
It is advisable for parents to play a role by encouraging their children to have a reading habit so that they grow up with such a mindset.
``Through such efforts, teachers would introduce a topic and send pupils to libraries to gather more information on it, thus further extending reading culture since each pupil would have a task to share their findings with others`` says John Mselo, a teacher.
Many teacher\'s habit of doing bulk work of research on a particular topic and later share the information with the pupils should soon be history.
``Giving notes to pupils is school feeding, they need to research on their own. The burning issue of shortage of teachers in our schools would no longer be an excuse for minimal performances,`` Mselo says.
However, this calls for action by other stakeholders in the education sector to spread this gospel to vast rural areas where several talents are unexplored due to inaccessibility to library facilities.
The Soma Book Café has also initiated the \'Parapanda\' theatre group which will be traveling to schools and help in talent identification, since theatre is the simplest way to hook children to books.
``It is always good to have diversity because majority of books in this country are written in Kiswahili`` says Irene Ayoo a Dar es Salaam resident.
But Gerald Yusuf, a student at a local school praises the move as the right direction towards keeping students alert, ``one cannot afford to idle around with such a facility within their reach especially students`` he notes.
The determination of an individual pupil or student will be a driving force behind their excellence in their studies and with this; we will be able to brag about a literate, informed society that drives itself towards the attainment of knowledge through reading.
There is need to do regular research on book reading in order have data on what people want to read and what they exactly want to enable policy makers know the people`s needs to fill the gaps.
The media comes in handy here too. It should disseminate information on books that are at the café to stimulate the public to read them and give direction on where to find what books.
The use of media will also ensure development discourse that would lead to infrastructures conducive for readers.
A network of book lovers would see a collection of books on various topics that could boost readership clubs hence advocates for books for all.
Old books should be collected and taken to the café so that they are put into their useful ness.
We look forward to seeing a society that is well equipped with capacity building, nurturing and validating children inspiration.
This would be through children\'s theatre productions by and with children. There is also need for mentoring young people interested in taking up functions in the book trade to act as role models to the young generation.
Grown-ups should also cultivate a culture of reading through leisure and pleasure because such will enable people read what they want.
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