Hasfa Mago and Her Team are Working to Nurture a Reading Culture in Children

Meet Hasfa Mago, an entreprenuer, our Woman Crush Wednesday today.

Three years ago, Hasfa Mago founded Smart Toto, a youth-led social enterprise working to nurture a reading culture in children, through publishing authentic African books and conducting literacy programs.

We write African story books and set up community libraries where children can easily access learning material. We also do community outreach programs to sensitize parents on the importance of early childhood literacy development. Mago and her team believe that reading should be an enjoyable experience for children, and as such, books should be considered toys too.

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A post shared by Smart Toto (@smarttotoug) on May 11, 2020 at 11:40am PDT

Lockdown experience

When government announced this lockdown, of course we couldn’t assemble children together anymore. Our only option was to send out books to parents at home. These would later be supplemented by learning material from Ministry of Education which they designed and sent out to children as well. However, I later realized that children in rural communities couldn’t  easily access this material because some of them have little access to TV and newspapers.

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A post shared by Smart Toto (@smarttotoug) on Sep 23, 2019 at 1:30pm PDT

Since we are socially distanced, I started a reading class for children in my neighborhood here in Nsambya, where I reside. The plan was to create a conducive environment for them to read, learn and do their homework. First thing I did was to visit the police chief of the area and sought permission to do the sessions. I made sure the classes adhered to the social distancing guidelines from the Ministry of Education. I went ahead to partner with parents who had interest in reading and learning to come in and assist us. Together we’re helping children read even when they are out of school. We also produce video content for parents to have their own sessions at home.  We also encourage older children to read to their younger siblings.

Mago’s experience

I did not join school early like every child. By the time I got the opportunity to join school I was already too big for Nursery school, I had to be put in primary five. This was very challenging, I struggled and at the end I failed my Primary 5 class. Fortunately, My Aunt came to my rescue. She would read to me with every available opportunity which helped me improve. I ended up excelling in my Primary Leaving Examinations. Since then, I’ve always wanted to do the same for children who have little or limited access to learning material.

It is important that learning and literacy development is introduced to children in their early years of development that is 3 to 6 years of age. Once they pick the culture of reading early, because if they can read and spell, learning becomes an enjoyable experience for them all through.

Mago holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Makerere University. She’s currently pursuing a degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a diploma in Neuro Linguistic Programming and two certificates; one in Early Literacy Intervention and another in Literacy Building Blocks.

Get to know the work Mago and her team at Smart Toto do here

satisfashionug@gmail.com