On a sunny afternoon in May, I received an unexpected email from the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) inviting me to participate in a Write Around the World (WATW) workshop in Maun, Botswana. I had a sudden rush of excitement and cheerfulness, such that a stranger could tell from my facial expression that I must have received a great news.
When I received this email, I was enroute to a rural community, heading towards an all-girls special school in the outskirt of Nasarawa, a state neighbouring Nigeria’s, vibrant capital city Abuja. I was on a literacy campaign, eager to make a difference. The prospect of joining other Associate Fellows of the Royal Commonwealth Society - each a literacy champion in their own right – filled me with excitement and anticipation. The journey ahead and participating in this Write Around the World workshop in Maun, Botswana promised not just an exchange of ideas, but a shared commitment to fostering literacy across the globe.
My trip to Maun, and the resulting experience of a f Write Around the World (WATW) workshop, facilitated by Nikita Nkese, RCS Regional Coordinator for Africa (Literacy) and supported by fellow Associate Fellows, was a riveting experience. The fact that the workshop was delivered to group of local school children also greatly enhanced the experience and afforded me the opportunity to meet young people from the beautiful Commonwealth country of Botswana. Every student who converged at Delta Waters International School felt the power of their voice being honed at the WATW workshop.
Students, Associate Fellows, and the RCS team shared the velvety feeling of a bright future of literacy skills in Africa, as they experienced these promising young voices committed to writing brilliant pieces about topics that interest them and reflect the Commonwealth values of shared prosperity for all.
I learnt first-hand about the culture of the Botswana people from the students, who shared values that reflect patriotism, cooperation, and unity. Their warmth and creative expressions were clear their lively writings, which often took you on a journey through their beautiful world. I was extremely impressed and have since thought often on a proverb centred on the cooperation and unity in Sesotho (A language native to Lesotho, South Africa, and Zimbabwe) that resonates with me “Motho ke motho ka batho” meaning “we are people because of each other.” This experience opened a portal of wholesome conversation and interaction through poetry, essay writing and storytelling.
Additionally, my engagement with these students made me reflect on ways I can adapt my own teaching style and learning experiences in Nigeria. On my return to Nigeria, I reached out to several schools including the special girls' school in Nasarawa, I had visited earlier and began to organise Write Around the World workshops.
The response so far has been incredibly encouraging. I engaged with a number of community champions like me who are now organising similar workshop trainings in their communities. These efforts are reaching more young people in both poor communities and affluent areas in Nigeria.
One of my implementation plans has since developed into a book club called TOUKHAN – named after the beautiful TOUCAN bird. Known for its distinct, colourful beak. The Toukhan Book Club is a collaboration between Nigeria READS and Digitise the Divide, both non-profits are dedicated to improving literacy in the most innovative ways. This collaboration was inspired by the wonderful WATW workshop in Botswana. The book club is dedicated to implementing a 12-week, resource-rich WATW workshop in our own indigenous way and are preparing participants to enter the prestigious Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition.
I keep telling every young person I meet during my implementation of WATW that their story is valid and only they can tell it in their own unique and imaginative words, so keep writing! Interestingly, this maxim has been positive on participants I trained. In one of my workshop sessions focused on “taking your word for a walk,” a girl named Bella wrote a highly imaginative piece that took the reader into Buckingham Palace for a meeting with Her Majesty The Queen. Her opening sentence captivated everyone: “Have you ever wondered what an amazing royal vacation will be like?” Likewise, another student, Nissi, in her concluding paragraph, described a view she saw on her morning hike with her dad: “I closed my eyes standing there, the air was cleaner, birds tweeting happily and bringing a smile to my face, I was relaxed and calm. As I came down and reached home, I promised to cherish this memory till this day.”
These encounters with students from my community during WATW workshops remind me of my own creative writing journey and reinforce my commitment to keep inspiring a generation of writers and change makers. There is nothing more satisfying than receiving a warm hug from a nine-year-old lad who after a workshop session, thanked me for igniting his passion for writing.
About the Author
During his National Youth Service in 2012, Kingsley Sintim co-founded Nigeria Reads, a non-profit organisation, to address the urgent problem of illiteracy in his community by establishing a community library and literacy centre. Since then, this initiative has grown to the point where it now has a weekly impact on the lives of over 400 adolescent girls and provides extension service benefits to over 1,400 people in communities across seven Nigerian states. Recently, Samantha, a mentee from this Project, spoke to world leaders at a UN-organised event on 11 October 2022 on girls' rights everywhere. Furthermore, the project inspired the establishment of a fellowship for young African library leaders to invest in social interventions to benefit their countries. This includes the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for libraries in rural communities to disseminate information to rural women in the Hausa language so that they can access essential information.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
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