2016 Mandela Washington Fellow Portia Mwinbeter-ib Dery

2016 Mandela Washington Fellow Portia Mwinbeter-ib Dery is a writer, social entrepreneur and a community worker with over three years’ experience. She currently works at the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development as a Community Development Officer. In 2014, Portia became the first Ghanaian to win the prestigious Golden Baobab literature prize for her story ‘Grandma’s List.’

She is the founder and CEO of the African Young Writers Organization-AYWO; a non-profit organization which designs innovative literacy solutions and products to improve literacy skills and make reading and creative writing an alternative quality leisure activity for young people.

With the help of a strong team of volunteers, Portia has mentored over 1,000 children since 2014 with her reading and writing programs. Her latest project is ‘The Funky ReadWrite Clinic,’ an innovative Saturday reading and writing program that mentor children from disadvantaged communities to improve their literacy skills. The Funky ReadWrite Clinic has two key distinctive features; A funky reading clinic where children are exposed to a wide variety of books. Children are taken through an exciting journey of reading via play activities/games and technology. A mentoring creative writing clinic which systematically stimulate the imagination of children. Here, creative writing is used as a therapeutic tool to help children open up, be confident and become more vocal about their emotions. Children are taken through intensive writing courses and also mentored by top African writers around the world via online programs. Why the need for this? Ghana’s educational system has undervalued the importance of pleasure reading and creative writing for children in schools. Over the years emphasis has been on ‘text book’ education and story books have been subtly pushed to the back. Children are constantly reminded, “you must read to pass your exams!" as a stern warning making most children view reading and writing as ' a dreaded monster.' Thus, reading and writing is often promoted as a means to an end, which is for exams only. Hence children miss the opportunity to explore and stimulate their creative minds.

The above worsens the already high illiteracy among children. UNESCO clearly says that more children are illiterate in world's poorest countries than believed. Although a national problem in Ghana the situation is worse in the northern region of Ghana. For instance, whiles the rate of illiteracy in the Greater Accra Region is 21% Ashanti 40%, 54% in the Brong Ahafo Region, it rises to an alarming 76% in the three Northern regions(http://tad Why are children from deprived communities? Children in deprived communities have no access to good schools with good educational facilities. These children are usually very timid, less vocal, their reading and writing abilities are low and therefore find it extremely difficult to understand their lessons in the classroom. Their parents earn below the minimum wage hence would never be able to afford extra reading & writing lessons or buy enhanced reading materials. SELECTION process School children are selected from schools within deprived communities; they would be groomed in this intensive clinic for 4-5months. After which the second batch will be enrolled. These children would become reading ambassadors and change agents for their schools and communities.

Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Portia plans to focus on strengthening and expanding her literacy programs to reach more rural communities within Africa.