“As soon as I got home from school, I quickly turned on the radio,” said Shohzoda Zaripova, a fourth-grader, and recent winner of the USAID-supported Let’s Read Together radio program.
“The story Uncle Policeman began. I listened carefully, and then picked up my mom’s phone and called the radio. I answered a few questions about the book. Then three or four people also participated but in the end, they said that I won! I was so happy that I told everyone at school that I had won the Let’s Read Together program.”
Let’s Read Together is a live radio program in which USAID-developed Tajik or Russian language books are read aloud, followed by a contest where kids can call in to answer questions about the book and have the opportunity to win a USAID-donated book and certificate.
This program is the result of the collaboration of the USAID Read with Me project, the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan, and the popular station Radio Vatan to encourage reading and storytelling, and cultivate a love for books.
Children across the country are familiar with many of the books on the radio program. This is because the USAID Read with Me program has donated nearly one million books to 80 percent of schools in Tajikistan. Each of these books were written by Tajik authors and printed and bound in Tajikistan. This radio program is a new method to encourage children to enjoy the books, of which many are already located in their own school libraries.
Manuchehr Davlatov is a taxi driver. He often listens to Radio Vatan when he is driving and enjoys the stories from the Let’s Read Together program. He encouraged his fourth-grader son to participate in the program, but when they called Radio Vatan together several times, they were not able to get through.
“Then one day I was driving and listening to the program when a boy called in and introduced himself. I was very happy to hear his name; it was my son! Out of joy, I told the passenger in the taxi that this is my son,” says Manuchehr. “Listening to programs like this is a great way to involve children in reading and expand their thinking and worldview.”
“I couldn't win the first two times,” said Nozanin, a fifth-grader from Hissor, “but the third time I listened very carefully and answered the questions, and in the end, I was very happy to hear that I was declared the winner.” She now dreams of winning the annual national reading competition organized by the President’s office.
"I also love reading," said Nozanin's brother, Biloliddin. “I borrow USAID-donated books from my school library and read them at home with my father before going to bed. My father will then ask me what the book was about, and I will try to tell him. If I don't understand it, my father will help me.”
Radio Vatan delivers Let’s Read Together to children in every region of Tajikistan at 5:10 pm, and replays again the following morning at 6:20 am. The program is hosted by Radio Vatan’s Daler Emomali. “I enjoy talking to the children. The USAID Read with Me project is doing a very good job engaging Tajik audiences, and the books broadcast on our station are very interesting and informative. We want to encourage our young listeners to read more and analyze the information they hear,” says Daler.
To date, 24 Let’s Read Together programs have aired, with another 46 programs to follow later this year.
The USAID Read with Me project works to improve reading skills among primary grade students in over 3,000 schools across Tajikistan, while also providing books to school libraries and training over 28,000 teachers.
USAID