By Olimatou Coker
The Al-Karaama Society, a group that promotes reading of Gambian literature and culture among students, on Thursday staged the second edition of the “Amir book award”, awarding seven competing schools.
The beneficiary schools include Scan-Aid Upper and Senior Secondary School, Busumbala -Farato Upper, Darul Alkamu Bilingual, Yundum Barracks, Ibun Zakareya, Omar Islamic and Ahalu Qur’an.
The Amir Book Award was initiated in 2022 by Amir Yaya Sillah, a Gambian publisher to promote reading and research in the Gambia with particular emphasis on Gambia’s literature.
Abisatou Jabbi, the head of the Organizing Committee, revealed that a total D42,000 was distributed among the seven schools.
Amir Yaya Sillah, the head of Al-Karaama Society, said most of the learning materials in the Gambia come from abroad and there is need to encourage our children to read Gambian literature and research Gambian culture, for without that we cannot build a nation.
“It is entirely impossible to build the confidence of the citizens if they don’t understand who they are. We need to know our culture. We need to know our influential people. We need to read the knowledge that we produce locally”, he said.
He disclosed that the book fair already yielded great benefit in that those who never used to read in the past now have the courage, the stamina and the reason to read.
Michael Amadi Secka, a retired civil servant and author, urged the children to read as most people do not have the opportunity be given books for free.
Secka thanked Amir Sillah for his outstanding contributions towards promoting a high-quality education in the Gambia through literature and training.
