Saturday, Sep 13, 2008

Gulf News

Muscat: It is common to see youngsters today walking around with the latest gizmos - either listening to ear-splitting MP3 music through headphones, or conversing and frenetically fidgeting with hand-held phones to send SMS.

Gone are the days when you would see people glued to their books or newspapers while travelling by buses or trains, as the case may be.

The habit of reading, many believe, is gradually withering away - thanks largely to the advancement of technology, the fast-paced life and, not to forget, the ubiquitous television sets.

In Oman, it is not any different. However, a group of volunteers of the Dar Al Atta'a (House of Giving) charity organisation have taken up the responsibility of cultivating the habit of reading among children in the country.

"Catch them young" is the motto of the campaign launched by Briton Jane Jaffer, who is involved with a host of charity and social work here, besides writing books.

Let's Read campaign

Jaffer said they have formed the Let's Read Committee and have already launched several programmes to spread the habit of reading among children, starting with the children of Muscat.

"Our intention is to spread our Let's Read campaign to the interior regions of the country and for that we are looking at starting a mobile unit," Jaffer, who is married to an Omani, told Gulf News.

To put into action this plan for a mobile unit, Dar Al Atta'a will need around 100,000 Omani riyals (Dh954,361). "We are trying to raise funds through the corporate sector and would appeal for help to accomplish this noble mission," she said.

She said a team of 10 volunteers had already embarked on the mission to have good quality books, both in Arabic and English, for the children in Oman. She lamented the limited opportunities in the country to access good books for children.

"What we lack here is children's literature with the local environment as the background," she rued. Jane thinks that it is important for children to relate with the stories when they read the books. She also wished that Omani writers would write more children's books with a local flavour.

Therapy

"I have written a children's story book in English [Dana and the Dolphin] with photos of Omani children and illustrations about Oman," she revealed. The book, she informs, is being translated into Arabic for a wider reach in the country.

The core idea behind Let's Read, Jaffer pointed out, was to motivate children and make them enjoy reading.

As part of the Let's Read campaign, Dar Al Atta'a volunteers read stories aloud, hold puppet shows, give away books as prizes and associate fun with literacy activities. The charity has held auctions of books donated by children to raise funds.

Dar Al Atta'a received a shot in the arm for its fund-raising activities when local event organisers, Talent Hunters, announced they would raise 5,000 Omani riyals for the organisation through their talent competition Muscat Idol.

Ten expatriate children in Oman and three Arabic-speaking participants will take part in the November 6 show at the Qurum Amphitheatre that accommodates around 5,000 people.

© Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.

 

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