Greymont’s reading legacy
How reading centre in the community also promotes holistic growth among the children it caters for.
This is a story of how what started out as a Wendy house with a vision grew to become two classrooms with an even bigger purpose.
Found cultivating and enriching young, malleable minds of its community is the Greymont Reading Centre. The centre, which was started about eight years ago, is the brainchild of one of the community’s own, Sumitra Nydoo.
An avid reader herself, she found it disheartening to see the community she calls home did not have a local library, “Reading is so important, it just opens up your world and I felt like the children in this area would be found aimlessly walking the streets, playing in the roads when they should have some sort of access to reading resources.”
With a strong sense that there should be a library and doubt in whether the children even knew what one looked like, she knew there was a bigger need for early childhood development within the area. In its early stages, Nydoo explained, the centre’s aim was to get children in touch with books, “Even if they couldn’t read it they could touch it, look at it and feel it. So they get acquainted with books and start to develop a love for books.”
The organisation, which relies purely on donations, caters for children between the ages of five to 15 years old. Over the years, they realised the children in this community needed so much more than just learning to read, even though this basic is not being met in this community.
It found kids needed help with understanding their homework, school projects as well as supplies. So they provided to this need of resources, be it paper, stationery, printouts or assistance with school projects. Their work in helping these children also extends to giving them a meal and other social needs they may need.
Along with being a lover of books, Nydoo’s other passion is recycling. As such, to promote innovation and creativity, they use recycled goods, like cereal boxes as part of art work projects.
The centre has inevitably grown through the years, as it now boasts two classrooms as well as two new teachers, one being a retired principal. They are ecstatic about this growth, as this means the 40 children who were previously on a waiting list can get the help they so require.
Related articles:
Exclusive Books launches tattoo campaign to celebrate the month of love
