In a school system that is bent towards rote learning, reading is often overlooked. Hagari believes that better readers are better learners and better learners have a better chance of breaking free of poverty. That is why we put a lot of emphasis on supporting our students to become better readers. This is no easy task, as many schools do not prioritize reading and most of our students’ homes are devoid of books.

We start with our nursery school students by having small groups come after school for tutoring in phonics and story time. During school holidays we are able to work with older kids to help them improve their reading skills as well. We are working to build our library so there will be many books to choose from and children will be able to check books out and take them home. In the coming years we hope to implement an incentive program around reading to further encourage our students.