We Love Reading program launched the virtual community platform on Tuesday 7/25/2023, in the presence of a group of WLR ambassadors who shared their journey at We Love Reading over the years.
The virtual community platform aims to create an interactive digital community for the ambassadors that allow them to share achievements, initiatives, and reading session information and to allow them to help each other in facing any challenges that they might have. In addition, the platform is a place where they can document their journey as WLR ambassadors, as well as exchange different opportunities (volunteering opportunities, jobs, etc). The platform was designed to include different digital tools to ensure the best user experience.
The following WLR ambassadors participated in the launching event supported by UNICEF: Hamza Abu Slaih, Jamila Abu Melhem, Aya Skajha, Asma Rashid, Zuhur Daghimat, Malak Al Nabulsi, Mayassa Al Aqili, and Hanan Bawadi.
“It is a wonderful feeling to know that the children I used to read-aloud to, are now reading-aloud to others, and it feels like it’s an endless procession, and I encourage all young people to participate in such initiatives.” Hamza, a WLR Ambassador.
WLR Ambassador Malak Al-Nabulsi from Zaatari camp (21 years old who works on multiple initiatives in the camp) also described her journey in reading saying that reading has become a part of her soul and that the We Love Reading program helped her find her passion, which is reading.
Another ambassador Mayassa Aloqaili (a teacher from Jerash who started her own initiative “young ambassadors” by collaborating with our other Ambassador Jameeleh Abu Melhem)
“The goal of the virtual community is to communicate and exchange ideas, by doing so, we may hope to inspire others to come up with new ideas that can be implemented so I urge everyone to join the virtual community.”
WLR Ambassador in UAE Hanan Bawadi believes that we need these programs to create positive role models in our communities as well as motivate individuals to change and make a difference.
It is noteworthy that one of the platform’s key goals is to provide an opportunity for ambassadors from all over the world to communicate with each other.
In this context, a recent collaborative study with Yale University and Boston college, entitled “Theory of change and social impact measurement of We Love Reading program impact on women’s leadership, empowerment, wellbeing, life satisfaction, and social networks ” was conducted.
The findings showed that the reading intervention for children created an opportunity and an environment for relations to develop between the WLR Ambassadors and the children. Additionally, life satisfaction and psychological well-being of women increased in the We Love Reading group from baseline to endline compared to control. Preliminary analyses of the endline results show that volunteering work diversified women’s personal networks outside the home. On the other hand, mothers of children who took part in WLR in 2021 continue to report higher levels of child attitudes toward reading a year later than mothers of children who didn’t join the program.