- Alfred Mayaka Nyankabaria, a pioneer bookshop owner, is credited with promoting a reading culture in the region.
- Leaders have urged youth to honour his legacy by embracing reading as a foundation for learning.
- Leaders have called on parents and teachers to buy books for children and set aside daily reading time in his memory.
Residents of Nyamira County, led by West Mugirango MP Hon. Steve Mogaka, have mourned the late Alfred Mayaka Nyankabaria as a man who supported education by pioneering the bookshop business in Nyamira town and its surrounding shopping centres.
“He found us on the way, sat us in the shade, asked each of us to read one paragraph from a book, gave us bananas, then told us to keep on reading,” said Hon. Mogaka.
Hundreds of people gathered at his Bonyamatuta home on Thursday to witness the send-off of the literature and reading hero, who passed on after a long illness, bravely borne.
During a brief address at the home, Hon. Mogaka encouraged the youth to embrace a reading culture as the best way of remembering the late Nyankabaria, who started Frenya Bookshop, an institution that propagated the reading culture in Nyamira County and beyond.
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Mourners at the ceremony reflected on the importance of a strong reading culture to learners, particularly those in primary school, noting that reading forms the foundation of all learning. A child who reads well, they said, can understand other subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Social Studies with greater ease.
Regular reading also improves language, exposing learners to new vocabulary, correct grammar and good sentence construction, which helps them in both spoken and written English and Kiswahili, while improving their performance in composition and insha. Reading was also described as a tool that boosts imagination and creativity, training learners to concentrate, exercise patience and think critically, in addition to teaching good morals such as honesty, hard work and respect.
Leaders present called upon parents and teachers to honour Mzee Nyankabaria’s memory by buying books for children and setting aside daily reading time both at home and in school.
By Enock Okong’o
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