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From Thumbelina to Brer Anansi from Marching Bands to Book Clubs, were today in the first ever Literacy Carnival Parade. The parade which started around 9 this morning saw the participation of preschools, primary schools, high schools and the University of Belize, News Seven spoke to some of the students and teachers who were a part of this big event:

Andrea Polanco
"So why did you decide and come out and join this literacy carnival today?"

Vinma Joseph: Principal Valgarten Preschool
"Well we decide to come out and join this today because literacy is a means of everyday life. It's a way of teaching children how to read and without reading you cannot learn and do anything so if we start from inside the womb the children; you read to them every day and the children will learn. If you read books to them every day the children will learn and understand how to read. Just read, as I read with my son; my son is 11 years old and I still read with my son. So parents read to your children every day and they will succeed in life."

Andrea Polanco
"You guys having fun?"

Children
"Yes ma'am."

Andrea Polanco
"So you like to read?"

Children
"Yes ma'am"

Andrea Polanco
"What's your favourite book?"

Student
"Scooby doo."

Student
"I would like to make them read a lot of books to understand good and have a good education."

Andrea Polanco
"What's your name?"

Student
"Ashton."

Andrea Polanco
"So tell me what are you showing out here today?"

Student
"About ugly duckling."

Andrea Polanco
"So you like to read?"

Student
"Yes."

Andrea Polanco
"You like to write as well?"

Student
"Yes."

Andrea Polanco "What's your favourite story book?"

Student
"Ugly Duckling."

Andrea Polanco
"What's your name?"

Student
"Kyla Young."

Andrea Polanco
"Which school are you from?"

Student
"St. Joseph."

Andrea Polanco
"What's your favourite story?"

Student
"The very hungry caterpillar."

Even though reading should be a big part of our everyday lives it isn't something that we promote enough and as Diana Smith of St. Martin's Preschool will tell you it should start from a very young age:

Diana Smith: St. Martin's PreSchool
"We do introduce reading at the pre-school level. we just do it in a very creative and unique way and reading is; like our banner say 'preschool pave the road for successful readers' we are the foundation, so we build the foundation and we set the blocks so that the children can learn to be good readers. The theme is colors and we use Dora as the person teaching colors. This is what we call a group time setting and at the back we have a farm. It's a combination because we integrate all subjects at the preschool level. So it's an integrated way of teaching colors to our children."

Like the saying goes: you're never too old to learn, well today the University of Belize along with E.P Yorke showed that you're never too old to read:

Sylvanna Udz: UB Belize City Branch: Book Club
"I am reading a local book and our float is showing that a lot of local writers exist. This is Colin Hyde's Invasion of the Mangrove Goons. it's an exciting little book. They are just beginning to read it. I believe this young man is about almost half way thru since we left Yabra. Tell us something about the book so far. What do you like?"

Student Reader
"This lady went by city council where they have some poison dogs. One of the lady's dogs got poison and the lady went to query about it."

Sylvanna Udz: UB Belize City Branch: Book Club
"So that's just one little incident but it is an excellent delightful book and the whole point of the book club is to say reading brings joy, brings fun, it can improve your English, your Spanish or any language you can read in."

Andrea Polanco
"Shanice, can you tell us why EP Yorke decide to participate in this literacy carnival parade today?"

Shanice Nicholson, EP Yorke
"Well we got the invitation from the ministry of education and we decide to take part because we are also helping our youths to give awareness about literacy. It is important to have an education, its important to know how to read and its helps and it will help to bring down the violent rate."

Andrea Polanco "So can you tell me what did EP Yorke do in the parade? I saw some of the schools had floats, some had marching bands, can you tell us what you all did?"

Shanice Nicholson, EP Yorke
"Well for our thing it was a literacy carnival so we implemented the carnival theme as you see we have hats that we came up with. We came up with different chance, the different helpers they sang the chance, and they were on a truck, using the microphone. It's just to give awareness; we had some posters and stuff that we use."

Andrea Polanco
"So Shanice, any final comments? Any message that you want to send to people across Belize about the importance of literacy?"

Shanice Nicholson, EP Yorke
"Well the most important this is to keep our children reading. We need to leran how to read at the level that we are."

Parading with his schools, the Minister of Education was there every step of the way and he told Seven News that the importance of reading, writing and interpreting isn't just for students but it's something that we all need to take on as a country:

Hon. Patrick Faber: Minister of Education
"Whatever else comes we will need the support of all the stakeholders out there especially the parents. We need for parents to be reading to their children. We need for them to take a little time just before they go to bed at night. As a parent myself I can tell you that it works, I read for my sons every night that I am there so that they are able to value reading and I see in turn that they now love books and reading. So it's not just me talking as minister of education, I can speak from personal experience. Parents need to read, and even when they reach that where they can read, still read to them, they love being read to and they get excited about that and parents you would not understand how excite children can be because of reading. But it is up to all of us as a community as a country to make our young people especially but also older people excited about reading, excited about literacy and then by transforming Belize we could spread our wings and try transform the rest of the world."

While the Literacy Carnival Parade saw the participation of over thirty six schools, Restore Belize, Belize National Library Service here in the city, similar activities were being held in the districts. The carnival will become an annual event.