World Book Day : March 1

Today is World Book Day and I did have plans to write a lovely post on the subject....

but I am sick AGAIN! 

This time with a dizziness/nausea/vertigo virus that is apparently sweeping London.....ugh :(

I am so rarely ill but February has not been a good month for me at all......what's up universe?!

World Book Day - click here

To me, every day is a reading day and World Book Day is essentially a big celebration of books and all that they represent in terms of imagination, education and inspiration.

But it's easy to forget how privileged we are.

In Kenya, for example, hundreds of thousands of children never finish primary school, whether because of their own sickness, or because they must tend to a sick relative, or simply because they need to work to survive. Extreme poverty and HIV/Aids are commonplace. 

Those who do finish primary school often don't have even a single book in their classroom. Unsurprisingly, reading and writing skills are poor, and the children's chances of fulfilling their potential are slim.

Book Aid International works to change all of this.

Of the more than 500,000 books sent to sub-Saharan Africa last year, about 330,000 were for children in schools and libraries. 

Winnie, one of those Kenyan primary school children who would otherwise not be learning to read or write, goes to the Kisii library in Kibuye. 

She told us: “I like reading books because books are the things that motivate us and let us be what we want.”