By the Book

There’s a Moroccan proverb that sums this project up pretty well.

“Reading books removes sorrow from the heart.”

I traveled to Morocco to help tell the success story of an elementary school reading program being used across the country. Until the late 1990s and early 2000s, reading was not taught in the same way that it is in the western world. And it was showing. The literacy rates were lower than many of their neighboring countries, but after successful implementation of the program, gains in literacy rates continued year over year.

You could hear the pride in the little voices as they read aloud in class. It was as though the sorrow had been removed from their hearts.

Check out the video I made for the story below.