Reading Club Ups the Ante

Last week the GHEI Community Library Reading Club met in the community centre to be quizzed on their latest reading material. GHEI holds these quizzes for our reading club regularly to ensure that our ambitious readers are getting the most out of their efforts. However, for this particular reading quiz competition, the stakes were much higher than usual. The outcome of this quiz competition would decide which of our contestants would travel to Kukurantumi, Easter Region, to represent GHEI in Books for Africa’s country-wide reading quiz competition and to take part in a large parade.

Club members arrived early, as the DJ set up the sound system, and sat on the steps, pouring over the book in a last-minute review session. The gathering began with the DJ blasting some high-life tunes, attracting those passing by the community center to drop in to see what the commotion was about. As the music faded, our contestants emerged onto the stage and found their seats with their team members. Education Program Manager Happy Nkrumah served as quizmaster for the evening, while GHEI staff Bright, Alfred and Innocent served as timekeepers and judges.


Our reading club, as well as reading clubs all over Ghana, were assigned to read “The Saga of Professor F. K. A. Allotey: The African Scientist.” A fitting selection, as the book was “dedicated to the youth of Africa.” The quiz began with a series of comprehension questions about the life and times of Professor Allotey. All participants were eager to demonstrate their understanding of his life story, and many times it was difficult to hear which group rang in first to answer the questions.

The growing tension was momentarily broken when one student answering a comprehension question was given an unexpected electrical shock from the microphone he was speaking into. He yelped in surprise, and the audience responded in hilarity. The DJ decided the best course of action would be to have Happy and the boy switch microphones, and the audience continued to laugh as Happy handled the faulty microphone gingerly, with a look of apprehension on his face.


The quiz continued with speed comprehension questions, followed by definitions, and ending in abbreviations and acronyms found in the book. Group three demonstrated their superior knowledge of the book and never lost their lead in points. It was no surprise then when they were announced as the winning team at the end of the quiz. All contestants were given notebooks and pens for participating, while top responders from each team were awarded geometry sets. Members of team three were then awarded novels as the top prize, but it was clear from the faces of our readers that they were eagerly anticipating the announcement of the ultimate prize: who would represent Humjibre in Books for Africa’s quiz?


Library Administrator Lawrence Donkor smiled with great pleasure as he announced the victor of the evening: Bismark Appiah. Bismark’s eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing his name announced, tears of joy streaming freely down his cheeks. He was so proud! GHEI Country Director Clement Donkor raised the boy’s arm in a proclamation of his success, as though he were a boxer who had just won a gruelling bout. And in a way, Bismark had done just that.

We are proud of our reading club and their efforts. Bismark proved himself to be worthy of representing both Humjibre and GHEI in Books for Africa’s event, and we look forward to hearing about his performance in the days to come!

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