My Book Buddy

Education sits at the heart of the SI Mission. My Book Buddy was first established as a Soroptimist International of Europe (SIE) Federation project, for the Biennium 2015 – 2017. Working with the My Book Buddy (MBB) Foundation, creators of the MBB library concept, the project was so successful that in 2018 the SIE Dutch Union decided to continue on the project, with Soroptimists in multiple countries, primarily in Africa. An innovative slogan declares that, “Children read books for children who need books!” The concept is that a school, together with the parents of the students, with the support of a Soroptimist club, organise reading events – at school and at home – where older children have the opportunity to read to those younger students, in addition to in homes for the elderly, and in public libraries. The children organise sponsorship for the reading sessions and donations go to a school where children have no books. Within the target country, Soroptimists work with school teachers to organise the choosing books, and educating them on the library system. Members of local government together with parents are invited to come along to the launch, and here they take responsibility for the care of the books, the rucksacks, and the bookcases. The children have the opportunity to take the books home, and parents are empowered to read with their children. As a spin-off, Soroptimists have now organised funding for teachers to teach parents to read, using the children books. The project creates awareness of the importance of reading for the empowerment of children in their future lives. We hope that with the help of Soroptimists wordwide UNESCO can report in 2030 that girls are no longer lagging behind, and that gender equity for literacy is a reality.