Abu Dhabi
It was a quiet Friday afternoon. The roads were not busy. A few friends were talking about the books they read. The bell rang frequently and each time one of them ran to the door to welcome another friend, each carrying one or two books. They were of different age groups, from six to 13 years of age. They had gathered for their reading club.
Future Legends - a children’s reading club, meets every month, as a celebration of reading.
Roosh Mehar, a homemaker and mother of one of the club’s members, explained: “The idea of a children’s reading club came to my mind with the declaration of the ‘Year of Reading’. My twin sister, Eid Kamal and I, with the help of some of our friends gathered for the first time for the reading club on December 18, 2015.
“In the first gathering, we decided on the children reading a book a month. From then on, we gather once every month and the children pick new books, exchange them with each other and enjoy reading. Mums always bring in new ideas and activities, which makes each gathering interesting and more enjoyable.”
This club helps the children improve their public speaking skills and allows them to share their experience of reading books. Now, all the children are reading three to four books in a month.
Jyoti Nambiar, mother of one of the group members, said: “The name Future legends is the children’s choice. We asked them to find a name for the club and they finally chose this unanimously. This year, our aim is to promote the habit of reading the newspaper among the children. They use our WhatsApp group to exchange news they read daily. We conduct quiz programs based on newspapers, too.”
As a mum, Nambiar finds improvements in her son’s reading due to the healthy competition among children to read more books. “This is the positive spirit and enthusiasm the club has brought in,” she added.
Archa Dhanesh, a student and a member of the group, said: “I was not a fan of reading until I joined this club and I was also scared of public speaking. I’ve made lot of friends, conquered my fear of public speaking and developed an interest in reading. It encourages me to read quality books and the club acts as a mobile library. It’s fun to spend time reading and learning with friends.”
Amir Mirza, another child member of the group, said: “The reading club helped me improve my speaking skills, through book reviews. I came to read many books through this. We used to share books. I was happy that I was able to read ‘Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown. Now I am a fan of the author. The mums in the group support my passion and I thank them for it.”
We have managed to achieve our target of reading a minimum of one book a month. We hope that such groups and initiatives get children to read much more in the future and others are encouraged to join in, too.
— The reader is a nurse based in Abu Dhabi.
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