Berita NECF Newletters

Reading their way out of poverty

Reading their way out of poverty

NECF Malaysia Executive Secretary Andy Chi witnessed a Reading Bus session in Kuching recently and was amazed that a simple activity like reading could ignite change to a village of children.

The Reading Bus is a mobile library that conducts a reading program in English targeting rural children in Sarawak aimed at eradicating academic marginalisation in the country.

It is initiated and run by Pr Cheli Tamiliselvam and his wife, Lai Mei, under their organisation, Bethany Ministries (see Berita NECF Jan-Feb 2010, pg 6).

Below is Andy's story.


Kampung Lebur in Serian is located 80 km from Kuching and it took us over an hour to reach there in Pr Cheli's van.

When we arrived, the reading program had already started. It was conducted by three of the Reading Bus staff who had come from Kuching and stayed the night before. The Reading Bus program is conducted every fortnightly and runs for two days.

There were about 30 children participating in this program and they were about to be tested to check their reading progress.

The children were divided into several groups. First, they read the Ladybird 1A book together. Then they read it individually as the Reading Bus staff checked and recorded their progress in a reading chart.

When all the individuals in a group have completed their reading, they will move on to the next book. If a member of the group fails to complete his/her reading, the group cannot advance.

The child will then be taught by the staff or those who have completed their reading. From here, the children learn teamwork and how to support one another.

The impact of this reading program was evident in the children's enthusiasm and excitement towards the program and their confidence in reading. This program has certainly heightened their interest and motivation to learn English.

What's more amazing is that these students are from SK Kampung Lebur/Remun, one of the 30 "SPR" schools in the nation. (SPR stands for "Sekolah Prestasi Rendah" or low-performing school).

But the wheel of change has begun to revolve if what I've observed that afternoon continues to take place.

Perhaps one day in the future, their school will be re-assigned "SPT" - "Sekolah Prestasi Tinggi" (high-performing school).

Note: To learn more about the Reading Bus and its activities and impact on the rural communities, check out thereadingbus.blogspot.com



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