When Ahmad Maaroof Mahmood was growing up in Nigeria’s Kaduna State, he was privileged to attend Essence International School, one of the best schools in Kaduna. The conducive learning environment of the school exposed him to books, toys, and cartoons, which then influenced his ability to read and write effectively.
Maaroof’s parents also played a key role in who he had become today.
“My mother was an educator who had faith in the power of reading, this is the secret behind my wild imagination. My father was a “superhero” architect with a very creative flair, which explains the cartoonist in me. He loved supplying the best toys, games, and books for us. I particularly learned a lot artistically through comics and storybooks in those days,” Maaroof recounted.
Today, as an adult, Maaroof loves to be around children because it gives him joy. “I grew up with more than just loving children, but also having the feeling to utilise my unique gift and use it to benefit myself and also give back to society,” he said.
In 2017, after he graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria with a degree in Fine Arts, Maaroof decided to deploy his love for kids into a positive venture- he founded the Kids Must Read Program, a small community service project in Kaduna.
“I was then worried about the state of education in my country, then narrowed it down to how fast the reading culture was fading generally. Especially with physical libraries, hard copy books, magazines, and comics being the endangered species,” Maaroof told Prime Progress.
Maaroof’s fears were not unfounded. According to UNICEF, 75% of children in Nigeria aged seven to 14 struggle to read a basic sentence, and this leaves them at a disadvantage compared to their peers.
The Kids Must Read Program is a project targeted at reversing that by reviving the reading culture in children across northern Nigeria. After a few successful learning sessions, the project went on hiatus until 2023, when Maaroof restructured it to a series of weekend sessions where he instilled reading habits in children aged 4 to 10 by applying a “learning through play” method.
Through physical and practical sessions, the program provides the children with an experience they have never had before, and each session revolves around reading, spelling, phonics, and public speaking.
In selecting the children who will benefit from the program, Maaroof will put out fliers on social media platforms and also share them offline across his network for interested parents, who will then jump on it and register their children who fall within the age range.
“Through our methods, we help the children learn unconventionally, without even knowing that they are being taught. Learning is supposed to be fun, and play is like an extra vein in a child’s body. I have discovered the best way to teach a child is to attach learning as an interesting activity. It works like magic,” Maaroof expressed.
In every session, Maaroof sees more enthusiasm from the children towards participation and learning. The program has also recorded positive feedback from parents whose children were either struggling to read or uninterested in the whole idea of books.
“One among the children was homeschooled, and the parents didn’t know where to start in guiding him through reading. So, just a month into the program, this child surprised them with spellings and started mentioning books in most of his or her sentences. There are a lot of success stories to share, and we have so far enrolled over 20 children in different batches,” Maaroof noted.
Nusaiba Muhammad has expressed that the program has impacted her six-year-old child positively.
“Since the lessons are carried out in a fun way, my child finds it engaging and will even cry if he doesn’t get to participate. So it’s a good opportunity for us, which has seen him develop a good reading habit,” she said.
With the Kids Must Read Program, Maaroof is taking children through a solid foundation to think outside the box, learn through play, and use their creative skills to solve problems. However, his only challenge is not having a learning space that will allow him to enrol as many children as he can.
“I’m hoping to expand the learning space in the future while I continue to fulfil every parent’s dream, which is to see their child grow and develop into a brilliant, creative, and productive adult,” he said.
