The Chilean Embassy to Kenya on Wednesday donated Kiswahili books to over 40 schools in Kajiado County in a bid to boost education standards in the area.
The books were written by Gabriela Mistral and have been translated into Kiswahili, the writer is a Chilean poet who in 1945 became the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Speaking during the book distribution event at The Orione Community Training Center (OCTC) in Rongai the Ambassador of the Republic of Chile Maria Alejandra Guerra said the books will promote the country’s culture and learning in schools.
It was also in support of schools that lack enough books.
The ambassador said Chile’s culture is shared through books, she noted that people must be proud of their culture and should share it globally.
“The book had been translated to 100 languages and Kiswahili was not one of them and we had to translate, the best way to bring culture to children is for them to read in their own language,” she said.
The books have poems and pictures to make it easy to read and understand, they also have Spanish language for the children to learn the language.
The embassy has been donating the books to different schools among them schools in Nairobi’s informal settlement and are planning to distribute them to other counties.
OCTC Deputy Director Father James Njoroge commended the Chile Embassy for supporting the children, he called on parents to enroll special needs children in school and allow them to get services at OCTC such, as special education, rehabilitation, vocation, and therapy among other services.
Victor Mutuma from OCTC called for more support of the centre from well-wishers to improve services to special needs children, the centre will hold a fundraising on Friday 1st September and on 28th September.
Most institutions lack enough facilities to cater for children with special needs and the government was challenged to increase budget allocation that targets children living with disabilities.
Fanaka School headteacher Sylvester Oswe said receiving Kiswahili books was a great contribution to the schools, he challenged the government to promote the Kiswahili language by involving schools in occasions such as Swahili Language Day which is observed annually on 7 July.
He challenged legislators to give speeches and debate in the language saying this will see many people including students embrace it.
By Obegi Malack
obegimalack@gmail.com
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