Leo Bradley Library hold eighth annual book fair/open day
Pick up a book, that’s the message that resonated today at the Leo Bradley Library as primary and preschool students gathered at the grounds on Princess Margaret Drive for the eighth annual Book Fair and Open Day. The theme this year is “Dive into Knowledge, Read” and the aim of the event is to encourage Belizeans of all ages to read as often as possible… and not just to look at the pictures. The highlight of the day was the launch of a “Reading is Essential” program, which offers an incentive for young readers to borrow books from the library. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington was on hand to present a donation of six African American History Culture encyclopedias and Spanish story books to the Samuel Haynes Institute of Excellence and so was the brother of Carol Reneau who financed the new program.
Gary Reneau, Reading is Essential Program
“It’s a program that’s designed to promote literacy in Belize. What we want people to do is to fall in love with reading. Once you learn to read, you will be empowered and that’s the program. What you do is borrow four books from the library and on the return of your fourth book; the library will give you a gift compliments of donations that my sister made. The age range for the program will be zero to ten and, like I told Ms. Ysaguirre, hopefully in the near future we will have it be for upper level students.”
Delahnie Bain
“And how did the programme come about?”
Gary Reneau
”It’s a program that they have in the library in New York so we wanted to do a similar format here in Belize City. The funds came personally from my sister Carol Reneau, she decided that she was gonna give back to the country of Belize.”
Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“Early last year the entire Caribbean Heads of government were invited by the Congressional Caucus to go to the United States to meet with business leaders and the like to try to drum up support for investment in the Caribbean. And during the course of the visit, they arrange for us to go to the Harlem Renaissance Center—I don’t think that’s the correct name of the place but it’s something to do with Harlem Renaissance. And they had just published that second edition of the encyclopedia, African American History and Culture and they made us a presentation of that to take back to our country.”
“The Mexican ambassador, at the opening of the Samuel Haynes Institute of Excellence, which opened at the corner of Oleander and Mahogany Streets in early February, he was present. He was very impressed with what we had done, promised his support and the first contribution he has made is these two boxes of Spanish story books for the children.”
In respect of the encyclopedias, Elrington says they are the most comprehensive writings about African American history.
