Bishkek – In August, more than 1,500 primary school students from 73 schools of Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Osh, and Batken oblasts will take part in summer reading camps organized by USAID in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science. The main goal of the camps is to refresh the knowledge gained during the school year through engaging activities that help children improve their reading skills.

These “reading camps”, organized under USAID’s Reading Together project, are designed to help improve children's literacy and create a culture of reading, which is critical for students’ academic success. During one-day camps, students of grades one through four read their favorite stories, organize performances, make handmade books, and draw heroes.

"The reading camps cultivate an interest of primary school students to continue reading over the summer and it helps prepare them for school in the fall," says Fazylova Zulfiya, a primary school teacher from Leilek district. 

Since the launch of the project in 2013, USAID has already organized over 1,400 reading camps and other extracurricular activities to promote reading. These activities involved over 28,000 primary school students throughout country.

The “reading camps” are a part of the broader effort to improve reading skills of early grade students in the Kyrgyz Republic under the USAID Reading Together project. USAID partnered with the Ministry of Education and Science to set new reading standards, develop guidelines for schools, train teachers, evaluate students’ reading skills, and organize community events to promote reading throughout the country.