The Mobile Library Project (MLP), an initiative under the auspices of Boa Daakye (help the future) Foundation has donated a mobile library and TV to the Children’s Ward at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) Hospital on 23rd April 2021 to mark World Book and Copyright Day.

This comes as part of the new initiative by the Foundation christened, 'Read to Heal' which focuses on promoting literacy in children at various hospitals in the Central Region of Ghana.

As the name implies, it seeks to ignite the reading interest of children with the hope of improving their health conditions over time through cognitive exercise.

The mobile library donated to the ward is stocked with several storybooks of various genres carefully selected to suit the age of patients occupying the ward. Children on recovery or appointment can therefore pick up a book from the shelves and read.

Donated in addition to the library, the television is meant to provide literacy-based entertainment contents to kids. Several contents have been uploaded on a pen drive to help entertain and educate the children through phonics, rhymes, Ananse stories, educative cartoons and many more. Donors say this is to imbibe some knowledge into the kids during their stay at the hospital.

Mrs Esther Ababio, Administrator in charge of the hospital expressed her absolute gratitude to the Foundation for the donation and gave assurances of the maximum use of the library and TV for its purpose.

"This is a very good initiative and on behalf of the entire team in this Hospital, I say thank you for your donation. Sometimes, the kids come and they want something to read but we do not have such provision. However, through your donation, we are looking forward to seeing our patients read these books and recover quickly as desired. So, thank you Mobile Library Project for this great work’ she said.

Meanwhile, the founder of the Foundation, Miss Kate Wodenya Amenyikor also took the opportunity to thank the hospital for their cooperation in making the donation a success.

She mentioned that her team will be in touch with the hospital regularly to find out the progress and impact made. She assured that this is the first but not the last.

‘We are happy to see this dream materialise today. This is the first donation under our Read to Heal initiative but definitely, it’s not the last. We are working on providing the mobile library and TV in almost all hospitals in the region to improve literacy, especially in children. Our doors are always opened for support of any kind in pushing this agenda’, she said.

The Foundation is looking at providing more of these facilities across all hospitals and clinics in the region to aid literacy improvement.