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5 Lakh Children Participate in Special Reading Sessions on International Literacy Day
Over 5 lakh children from 1,500 schools across India participated in special reading sessions as part of a campaign to mark International Literacy Day.
International Literacy Day was brightened by over 5 lakh children from 1,500 schools across India. Students participated in special reading sessions as part of the Lighting Up Young Minds (LUYM) campaign organized by social enterprise Dharma Life.
Children from 13 states participated actively. States like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan recorded maximum participation, with turnouts of 2.5 lakh, 1.5 lakh and 64,000 respectively.
The campaign was organized in association with the Signify Foundation. It was launched in 2015 with an aim to educate children in rural India.
The campaign follows an interactive model wherein lessons are imparted through extracurricular activities. It aims at improving the overall literacy skills of students through guided reading.
Gaurav Mehta, founder and CEO of Dharma Life, remarked "It is greatly encouraging and satisfying to see the large number of children who participated in the campaign this year. The activities are intended to foster a spirit of teamwork, leadership skills, innovative thinking and problem-solving skills among children in rural India,"
This year, Dharma Life has started an initiative called 'Lighting Libraries', in rural schools with support from the Signify Foundation. Its goal is to help the students study at night as well as to increase awareness and adoption of solar lights. It’s spread in rural areas of UP, Bihar and Jharkhand.
"The campaign engages children in a unique way through reading sessions conducted under solar lights. These lights also increase the children's understanding of clean energy," added Yue Cui of the Signify Foundation.