Inspiration and learning through e‐reading
Lau Dybbro ‐ October 14th, 2020
Something is spreading through the dark and dusty paths between the small rural villages scattered throughout West Africa. It has already gained its foothold in Ghana and is now creeping past the political and natural frontiers with no respect for international borders and slowly spreading itself throughout the rest of the West African continent.
This something is not a virus but a highly contagious learning project that kick started in 2009 and now comprises five African countries and close to half a million students.
The spreading of knowledge and prosperity through an Amazon Kindle
Ten years ago, in 2009, David Risher and Colin McElwee started a small project with a big vision. The project organisation was named Worldreader, which doesn’t leave much to the imagination concerning its purpose and goals. Never the less, the idea was simple enough!
Spread knowledge and culture in Africa through the power of reading by the means of digital books on e‐readers. The immense distances that cover the African continent have always been the down side in relation to the educational distribution progress. The general lack of funds added to the expenses of transport has made it practically impossible to get books delivered to the most remote regions on the continent. Therefore there is a huge demand for new and relevant books for both students and non‐students in these areas.
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| Ghana became the pilot country to recieve eLearning |
The initial project in Ghana involved the distribution of 500 content filled Amazon Kindle e‐readers to schoolchildren and their teachers.
The Worldreader project quickly became a huge success and its future potential for expansion was established.
Ghana now has 150 rural schools involved in the Worldreader program and thousands of Kindle devices are used all over the country ‐ but also in the neighbouring countries the use of the Kindle is spreading.
10 years later - Worldreader continues to penetrate in West Africa
What started as an idea ten years ago has today become an important cornerstone in the educational programs of children and adults in most rural parts of the West African continent.
After the success in Ghana in 2010, the project began to spread into the neighbouring countries: Benin (2012), Tonga (2015) and Burkina Faso (2018).
The Worldreader programme continues its active role in these countries embracing in total more than a thousand schools and education centres in West Africa. The e‐reader has been distributed to approximately 450.000 students that all are using the device as their main source for completing the educational syllabus.
The governments and institutions of these West African countries have all pledged to help the project along, embracing the idea of spreading education and digital books throughout the African countries.
Last month the Ministry of Education in Niger made a formal request to the Worldreader organisation wishing to implement the e‐reader program, initially, in the eastern part of the country. Niger is the sixth largest country on the African continent (1.267.000 km2) and the sheer size and diversity of the country will certainly pose new challenges to the Worldreader program, which this month has been active for a little more than a decade.
West Africa is helping itself
The initial experiences learned in Ghana, in relation to the distribution logistics of the project, has improved the speed of implementation in the neighbouring countries. It has also given rise to new challenges such as selection of recipients and choosing which areas are best suited and equipped to achieve success through the Worldreader project.
Since covering Ghana the Worldreader project has moved on to provide educational help through digital content on e‐readers to rural areas in Tongo, Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Attempts were made to introduce the program in the Ivory Coast but unfortunately it had to be put on hold due to the outbreak of a civil war back in 2015.
The rapid acceptance of the Worldreader programme in West Africa is valid proof that the idea is much more than just a simple educational accelerant. It has brought the stories and tales from the western hemisphere into the most remote corners of the African continent where the possibility of buying a book is close to impossible.
The need for new and up‐to‐date digital content is constantly on the increase. To that effect Worldreader has intensified its dialogue with authors and publishing houses in order to obtain free books for the e‐readers destined for Africa.
The e‐reader and its digitalised content also serves as an inspirational platform for African authors. Through the e‐readers, pupils are able to get a much closer relationship with their own culture, offering them the possibility of reading the thoughts and doings of their own countrymen and woman. This will ultimately serve as an inspiration, offering the readers a better understanding of their own heritage through the digitalised words and writings.
Education always prevails
The success of the Worldreader project, bringing digital books and education to remote rural areas, has proven to be a much larger project than first anticipated. From the pilot project and implementation in Ghana to Benin, Tongo, Burkina Faso and now Niger clearly indicates that the buck won’t stop in Niger ‐ an entire continent is ready to accept and learn through digital reading.
The students are allowed to keep their Kindles for the duration of the project in order to encourage them to continue reading in their leisure time and to spread the joy of reading with their families.
Ghana now has 150 rural schools involved in the Worldreader program and thousands of Kindle devices are used all over the country ‐ but also in the neighbouring countries the use of the Kindle is spreading.
10 years later - Worldreader continues to penetrate in West Africa
What started as an idea ten years ago has today become an important cornerstone in the educational programs of children and adults in most rural parts of the West African continent.
After the success in Ghana in 2010, the project began to spread into the neighbouring countries: Benin (2012), Tonga (2015) and Burkina Faso (2018).
The Worldreader programme continues its active role in these countries embracing in total more than a thousand schools and education centres in West Africa. The e‐reader has been distributed to approximately 450.000 students that all are using the device as their main source for completing the educational syllabus.
The governments and institutions of these West African countries have all pledged to help the project along, embracing the idea of spreading education and digital books throughout the African countries.
Last month the Ministry of Education in Niger made a formal request to the Worldreader organisation wishing to implement the e‐reader program, initially, in the eastern part of the country. Niger is the sixth largest country on the African continent (1.267.000 km2) and the sheer size and diversity of the country will certainly pose new challenges to the Worldreader program, which this month has been active for a little more than a decade.
West Africa is helping itself
The initial experiences learned in Ghana, in relation to the distribution logistics of the project, has improved the speed of implementation in the neighbouring countries. It has also given rise to new challenges such as selection of recipients and choosing which areas are best suited and equipped to achieve success through the Worldreader project.
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| Worldreader has spred to several West African countries |
Attempts were made to introduce the program in the Ivory Coast but unfortunately it had to be put on hold due to the outbreak of a civil war back in 2015.
The rapid acceptance of the Worldreader programme in West Africa is valid proof that the idea is much more than just a simple educational accelerant. It has brought the stories and tales from the western hemisphere into the most remote corners of the African continent where the possibility of buying a book is close to impossible.
The need for new and up‐to‐date digital content is constantly on the increase. To that effect Worldreader has intensified its dialogue with authors and publishing houses in order to obtain free books for the e‐readers destined for Africa.
The e‐reader and its digitalised content also serves as an inspirational platform for African authors. Through the e‐readers, pupils are able to get a much closer relationship with their own culture, offering them the possibility of reading the thoughts and doings of their own countrymen and woman. This will ultimately serve as an inspiration, offering the readers a better understanding of their own heritage through the digitalised words and writings.
Education always prevails
The success of the Worldreader project, bringing digital books and education to remote rural areas, has proven to be a much larger project than first anticipated. From the pilot project and implementation in Ghana to Benin, Tongo, Burkina Faso and now Niger clearly indicates that the buck won’t stop in Niger ‐ an entire continent is ready to accept and learn through digital reading.
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