It is exciting to announce that We Love Reading has collaborated with a scholar to shine the light on male participants in the program, and specifically those who are fathers. Ms. Madina Olomi’s thesis looks at the perceptions of We Love Reading Ambassadors who are fathers of their involvement in reading with their young children and how their involvement in reading affected other aspects within their homes, extended families, neighborhoods, and communities.
Findings show that a majority of participants felt reading was the responsibility of the mother and were not involved before attending a We Love Reading training. After the training, all participants continue to read with their children. Many read to children other than their own and encourage others in their communities and families to read with children, creating a ripple effect starting within homes and extending to other aspects of participants’ surroundings.