In 2016, she started a project of building one library annually in Ghana. She built the first library, known as the Read2Lead New School Library Centre, at Gbawe in the Ga South District in the Greater Accra Region, at the Gbawe Cluster of Schools and its nearby communities.

The library serves over 5,000 pupils.

As the Founder of Read2Lead, an organization that was created to breed the next generation of leaders through reading, Samantha Boateng, aided by her mother Francisca Boateng, and a project team from the New School of Northern Virginia, USA, they were able to gather 14,000 books to stock the first library.

In an interview with citifmonline.com, she stated that “it surprises me mostly when I realized that a developing country like Ghana lacks such facilities because in the US in my community, we had a lot of libraries all around.”

She further urged sponsors to come on board to aid in the building of the library.“…Also, we are looking for more sponsors to come and support these projects more especially the upcoming event on this Saturday with food, drinks etc” she stated.

Academic Bowl Competition

To monitor and evaluate how the first library is impacting positively or otherwise on the lives of the over the 5,000 pupils in the Gbawe Cluster of Schools and surrounding schools, Read2Lead is organizing a quiz competition for the pupils on Saturday, June 17, 2017.

The competition, Academic Bowl Competition, will see more than 10 schools in the Gbawe community participate to win prizes including tablets. Part of the funds raised will go to help maintain and improve certain aspects of the library in Gbawe.

However, there will be prizes which will go to the first top five students in the three top schools, in addition with other prizes like tablets, and games.

After the quiz competition, there will be a funfair and other exciting activities for students and residents in the community.

Explaining how Read2Lead came about, she explained that, “as an avid reader, it bewilders me that children my age have never stepped foot into a library nor do they know what one is. Books are so important to all people, young and old, to strengthen our minds and expand our intellects to be the engineers, politicians, teachers, and doctors of society. I want to help these children by starting an initiative called Read 2 Lead.”

The grand opening of the Asuodei Library will be on the 26th of June in Kumasi, as that day marks the birth of her grandfather, the founder of the school to honour him.
–
By: Jessica Aryee/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 17-year old Samantha Boateng to open 2nd library in Kumasi appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.