Why I love Red Zebra Project - 1

Some of my friends and acquaintances on Facebook or otherwise will know something about the RED ZEBRA PROJECT. This is a non-profit organization currently based in Cape Town, South Africa, started by dear friends who love the Nyungwe people as much as we do. In the next few days, I'd like to share how RED ZEBRA BOOKS came to Tete and are making a difference around here.

At the edge of the provincial capital of Tete, a good 90% of kids speak Nyungwe 90% of the day. For many, school is the only place that Portuguese, the official language of Mozambique, even seems important. 

Nyungwe RED ZEBRA BOOKS  are colorful and chock full of local culture. Children are presented with stories written in their own language for the first time. 

We were shocked when our simplest idea became the overall favorite. 

"The Bean Book" is simply numbers 1-10 with the respective number of beans and the Nyungwe word for each number. Even teenagers, public officials and teachers love this easy book.   

After many years living in Tete and trying many ways of getting people interested in reading in their own language, I'm thrilled with the impact of RED ZEBRA PROJECT in the past six months. I love sharing the books and seeing confidence grow quickly after someone tries to read in his own language for the first time. Some of the Gospels we have shared in the past are intimidating to new readers. The colorful pictures in RED ZEBRA BOOKS give important clues to the text, and readers feel success after the first few lines. So much of learning depends on attitude. Successful Nyungwe readers will become students of Portuguese who look for meaning in what they read. Literacy skills learned in one language have a positive effect on literacy skills in general. In a place where reading comprehension is low, we hope to impact a generation of learners with improved skills. Tomorrow I'll share about my visit to schools where teachers are learning to include Nyungwe in some of the lessons.