On June 8th, the U.S. Embassy held a kickoff event for its fourth annual campaign to encourage a love of reading. The “Everybody Reads Rwanda” campaign will be held from June 8-19 and encourages as many people as possible to read and discuss the same the same book.
This year, the Embassy selected the young adult classic A Wrinkle in Timeby Madeleine L’Engle as the campaign’s featured book. A Wrinkle in Time was recognized as 2nd on the top 100 list of children’s novels by the School Library Journal and won the 1963 Newbery Medal, the highest honor in children’s literature.
After distributing nearly 500 copies of the book to local secondary schools and teachers, Rwandan and American staff from the U.S. Embassy will lead discussions about the story throughout the month of June.
“The themes of this novel – love, courage, and the bonds of family – speak to people of every age and nationality. We are excited to introduce A Wrinkle in Time to a new generation of Rwandan readers, and to share ideas about these themes that unite us,” said Ambassador Barks-Ruggles.
Members of Mashirika Performing Arts & Media Company performed a short play inspired by the novel as part of the kick-off event festivities.
The Everybody Reads initiative began as a project to support the government of Rwanda’s efforts to build a culture of reading. The United States partners with the Rwanda on numerous education initiatives to improve literacy, integrate technology into classrooms, and give every child the chance to succeed. Over the last year, USAID has committed over $22 million to support basic education in Rwanda.
