Based in Jordan, Catalyst 2030 member We Love Reading inspires children to read for fun through its research-backed read-aloud program. The organisation trains local volunteers to read to children in their neighbourhoods
Social entrepreneurs are known for finding solutions for society’s problems. What is the problem that you are addressing, and what is your solution?
Our philosophy is based on the butterfly effect—the concept that small actions can have far-reaching consequences. We believe that just one person can make a difference and that the contribution of each individual matters. Through collective effort, transformation unfolds.
The We Love Reading Program empowers local volunteers to read aloud to children at school and in their neighbourhoods. During the COVID 19 pandemic, as schools are shutting and children are at home, the We Love Reading programme moved online and enabled parents and community members to learn to read aloud to their children in a fun way and keep them engaged with learning.
To increase the reach of the program, we partnered with Greater Translogic Advisory Services from South Africa to host our online training for free. This enabled us to have unlimited users and now we are translating the training. Currenty we have seven languages: Chinese, Persian, Spanish, Luganda, Vietnamese, Macedonian, and Somali.
The We Love Reading programme fosters resilience and wellbeing among the readers, the children and their parents. Everyone is engaged in a human-human interaction that fosters positive mental health.
We Love Reading is about reading for fun! As children discover the joy in reading, they exhibit stronger language skills, better academic performance, and a greater emotional intelligence.
What do you see as the benefit of your Catalyst 2030 membership?
The ability to network and brainstorm, and finding partners with the same mindset and goals. Catalyst has helped me shift my perspective to see the world in a new way that makes systems change possible.