Koko Kalango: For the Love of Books

On Sunday, June 3rd, 2012, ThisDay Newspapers published a piece (on pages 78 and 79) titled "For the Love of Books", which focused on Rainbow Book Club's book reading on May 28 to encourage reading among children. The Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, read to public primary school children  in the Enuoha Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The article was also about Koko Kalango's work with the Garden City Literary Festival and the Rainbow Book Club. Below are excerpts.

On the Origin of the Name "Rainbow Book Club"

"Over time, the sign  of the rainbow has been used by different people to designate different concepts. But it has its origin in the Bible. The rainbow was given by God as a sign of promise. All the work that I do comes under the name as a reminder that I am ultimately accountable to God."

On RBC's Significance

"The book club's visit to schools, has, meanwhile, begun to yield results. A boy in one of the schools was once moved to tell a story of how reading had changed his life. A flurry of emails also came from university undergraduates, who were in secondary school when they attended the reading programmes. Keeping in touch with RBC was their way of saying "Thank You."

RBC's Ultimate Goal

"The book club's ultimate goal is to change the society through changing the mindset of its citizens. And this is possible through the love of reading. We also hope, as a long-term goal, to change the entire continent."

The festival is scheduled to hold between October 15-20, 2012. Keep those days open.