Dubai: The race for the One Million Book Challenge has come to an end and once again Dubai Cares has exceeded expectations with one book being read by every second child of the UAE.
The UAE collectively read 1,323,218 books during the two-week challenge, which was completed by 141,415 pupils from 159 schools in Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, and Dubai.
Reem Ebrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State, announced during a ceremony marking the end of the challenge that in response to the impressive achievement, Dubai Cares will create over 1,000 libraries for needy communities to offer continuous improvement in literacy.
Hafsa Ahmad from Latifa Bint Hamdan School read more then 90 books during the two-week period saying she exceeded her own expectations. "It's no excuse to say there isn't time for reading as this challenge proves that we all do; I guess what we needed is a strong drive and I am glad my efforts will help children with less fortunate circumstances," she said.
Georgia Boyle, a 10-year old enthusiast spoke about her reading experience as an individual and a team member at Repton Dubai School.
"As pupils we are always willing to contribute not with money alone but with our time with more than 1,000 pupils participating at Repton School. It makes us realise how much we are fortunate and how we can share this opportunity with others," she said.
Girls outnumbered boys in their reading achievement. A significant number of girls of the Shaikh Rashid Pakistani School took part in the campaign compared to boys.
Souha Mounawar, a 12-year-old at the school, read 48 books saying there was a spirit of competition in the school. One month after her second birthday, Raphaela Nijhof is one of the youngest participants.
Raphaela is in the Pre-nursery stars class at multilingual pre-school, The Children's Garden, in the Green Community. Despite her tender age, she completed reading 27 books in three different languages. Born to Dutch father and Greek mother, Raphaela speaks mainly English and Greek at home, and had been introduced to German. Her favourite story is an adaptation of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen.
Empowering students
Dubai Cares has launched the eCares initiative, a web-based fund-raising experience that allows students to play the role of fund raiser and donor to education charities globally.
Dubai Cares allocates Virtual Dirhams to high school students who recommend through online research education charities that they feel needs Dubai Cares support. Students can spend the virtual funds they accumulate on the eCares campaigns.
Do you think children read enough books? Why? What else can be done to encourage children to read?
By Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter