Reading Club

Today is Saturday and I find myself wondering what my friends in Ghana are doing. Today is a Reading Club day. So, from noon until 4 or 5 pm, they will be working with anywhere from 50 to 80 children/youth, helping them to better read and understand English. Although English is the national language of Ghana, it is not the first language that these children/youth learn. The language spoken in the Ankaase area is Twi. Twi is what people learn at home, at a very young age.

In the Ankaase area, only 30% of those who begin primary school will graduate senior secondary school. Poverty is one of the main reasons. The cost for Junior and Senior Secondary School prohibits most of these young people from attending. My friends, who call themselves "Ambassadors for Christ" have started the Reading Club in hope of helping the children/youth acquire the skills needed to pass entrance exams, receive scholarships to secondary school and, to break out of the chains of poverty. They help the youth practice taking exams and also teach basic computer skills.

Every other Saturday, the younger youth read a story in English and underline the words that they don't understand. Then, they practice saying the words, learn the meaning of them and answer questions about the story to improve their comprehension. The older youth take a two hour test. After that, they go over the previous session's test, learning from their mistakes and improving their skills.

The Ambassadors look at this as a ministry. It is a platform not to just teach English, but also to teach these youth about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. They are working for the Kingdom. Are you?