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Daisy Girl Foundation to boost reading with book donation to schools

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…As founder unveils ‘The Bridge to Where I Come From’

Determined to boost the reading culture in Nigeria, Daisy Girl Foundation, is perfecting plans to donate between 500 and 1000 copies of ‘The Bridge to Where I Come From,’ a collection of poetry to girls’ schools in less privileged communities.

Marilyn Maduka, founder, who disclosed this recently in Lagos during an evening of poetry and a public presentation of ‘The Bridge to Where I Come From,’ a collection of poetry, said the aim of Daisy Girl Foundation, a non-governmental organisation for value-based education for girls, was to grow the reading culture in Nigeria.

Maduka, who doubles as the people’s director for International Breweries PLC (IBPLC) West Africa, decried the rising cost of printing books in Nigeria, which she said endangers not only the quality of the books in the market, but also education, reading and empowerment of the next generation of leaders.

Using ‘The Bridge to Where I Come From,’ as example, she said the escalating cost of printing books, which compels many writers to compromise quality, has forced her to retail the book at N3,000 per one in order to be able to achieve the purpose of going into the book project.

“One of the projects that Daisy Girl Foundation drives is the building of mini libraries, and we have built in Ebonyi State and Kano State. We believe that when you educate the minds to possibilities, you raise people up. We want to encourage people to say that reading is beautiful, enjoyable and fun,” she explained.

On the book launch, Maduka said the unveiling of the poetry collection was a decision to raise funds for Daisy Girl Foundation to be able to actualise its objectives, which she had practically funded from her pocket since inception.

“As a result of that, I got the courage to release my personal starch of poems that I have been collecting for over two decades. ‘The Bridge to Where I Come From’ is all about life, love, laughter, hope, courage, sorrow, and worship that were written in very simple language that is easy to read but blended with imageries. I believe that those who pick it up will find something that every heart can relate to,” she said.

Giving insight into the book, she said: “The Bridge is one poem while ‘Where I Come From’ is another poem.  The Bridge is what really connects this whole work, and is Love. Love is the bridge to where I come from, and that is really the power of the message behind the collection. This means that after all is said and done, love is what binds us and leads us back to our origin.”

Maduka, who is of Igbo origin and a proud mother of three, told BusinessDay that works put into the entire book and the poem Where I Come From’ was to showcase her love for her heritage and her ancestral root

According to review on the collections of poem, Multiple Poet Award Winner, Ayo Charles dada, “Marilyn’s one poem took me to many worlds, deeply innovative, highly refreshing who wilds several truth to her radical journey”, he said.

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