Sharjah: At an age when most are still forming ideas about the world around them, 12-year-old Namaa Al Zarooni is well on her way to sparking a real change through the joys of reading.
A seventh grader at Al Rushed American School, Namaa has distributed over 1,700 books as part of her “Let’s Read Together” initiative she founded at the 14th Sharjah Children Council last September with the help of the Sharjah Children Centres.
Having visited 14 of the centres in the emirate, where she lives with her family, and after several presentations including the one at the Sharjah International Book Fair, she says she is now happy to see how her project has taken off.
Giving inspiration
“Reading is a great way to learn more about the world and yourself at the same time. And I wanted to find a way to share my love of reading and the things I learned from books – the stories – with other students. I wanted to inspire them to learn about different topics, or even simply to enjoy reading stories during their free time. This desire led me to come up with the initiative,” says the Emirati girl.
She has so far distributed 882 bags - each containing a mix of books on science, sports, art and religion, encyclopaedias and children’s stories - among children in Sharjah on school buses.
Read and ride
“I wanted to encourage my fellow schoolgoers to use the time they spend on bus rides in a productive way and to help them develop an appreciation for reading by making it a daily habit,” says Namaa whose actual preparations for the initiative began during last year’s summer holidays when she went to the Children Centres every day.
“It was then when my idea started to translate into action. Sharjah Children Centres helped me contact all the institutions who were ready to provide the books. After all other arrangements were made, I launched the initiative in September with the help of Sharjah Children Centres,” says the keen violin and piano player who had books donated by several other organisations in Sharjah including the Cultural and Media Office at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services.
While she hopes to reach out to as many children she can through her drive, Namaa’s ultimate dream is to become a ‘Minister of Childhood’ and see a department created especially for children.
“I hope that a Ministry of Childhood is soon established in the UAE to nurture children in all fields, besides a language and cultural centre and a creativity centre for all age groups,” says the fan of short stories and encyclopaedias who considers her parents as her role models.
