Nurturing Young Minds, One Page at a Time

The 102nd book club session under the Turning Pages program took place at Club Rafiki’s computer lab, marking a refreshing shift from our usual library setting. The Turning Pages program, launched in 2023, aims to cultivate a reading culture while stimulating travel enthusiasm among young readers.

This was the first session to be held in the computer lab, and it turned out to be a milestone in more ways than one. While many associate Club Rafiki with sports and entertainment, the youth center is much more than that. In addition to its sports facilities and recreational spaces, it houses a library and an innovation center equipped with computers—spaces designed to nurture both learning and creativity.

With 30 young participants from Nyamirambo, Kimisagara, and surrounding neighborhoods, this was the largest gathering I’ve hosted so far. It was also the first in-person session using e-books, a significant step after experimenting with digital reading in previous virtual meetings. The featured publication, Magical Musanze, captures my unforgettable journey through Musanze District in Rwanda’s Northern Province—a region celebrated for its breathtaking landscapes and thriving tourism scene.

The participants, though tender in age, impressed me with their reading fluency and their ability to transform written stories into vivid virtual tours. To make the experience more engaging, I designed Magical Musanze in a magazine-style format filled with colorful photos and dynamic layouts, helping them visualize the story as they read.

Our discussion delved into the beauty of Musanze, its geographical features, and its place as Rwanda's tourism hotspot. When I asked the participants what they had learned, their collective response warmed my heart: “Musanze is beautiful.”

In my closing remarks, I encouraged them to celebrate Rwanda’s beauty while also recognizing that the country is full of opportunities. I reminded them that seizing those opportunities requires the right skill sets, and that they are fortunate to have free access to Club Rafiki’s facilities—tools that can help them learn, explore, and grow.