Ragadah Madanat Scholarship
Raghadah Madanat (1947-2007) Raghadah Madanat was born to a farmer's family in the town of Madaba. By the time young women reached maturity, they stayed home to help with the house work and waited to be married. For Raghadah that was impossible. After finishing high school, she arranged to attend a boarding school to become a nurse. Nursing became her passion. She married in 1967 and started working with the United Nations as a nurse in refugee camps. Twenty years later, she retired from the United Nations to work in her community as nurse in a small dental clinic which gave services to families in need. She was also an active volunteer in the Cartize Foundation. Other volunteer members and she used to visit families and offer food and clothes. She stayed active, giving back to her community even during her battle with lung cancer. Raghadah will be remembered by her husband, three daughters, a son, grandchildren, and thousands of people whose lives she touched through her giving. The founder of Growing with Books feels that it was her mother's illness that made Growing with Books a reality. It was during her visit to Jordan to spend some time with her mother that she discovered the great need for children's libraries.
To accomplish our mission, Growing with Books will work with local communities in developing countries. We’ve chosen Jordan as the first locations for this endeavor. Growing with Books will establish libraries and educational programs in a variety of settings. These programs are designed to help young children become literate and improve their socioeconomic condition.
Mini-Community Libraries target communities without early childhood education programs. We will provide bookcases and 50 colorful storybooks to daycare centers, doctors' offices, health clinics, refugee camps, and work places, where employees can check out these books to bring home to their children.
These mini-community libraries have several benefits. Parents and children will become accustomed to seeing books in their daily lives. The easy accessibility of the mini-libraries encourages reading. To help educate adults about the rewards of reading, we will provide informative pamphlets that discuss the importance of reading at an early age. Families will discover the fun and pleasure of reading, any time and in any place.
Structured Libraries are permanent children’s libraries with warm, friendly environments which encourage young readers to explore, to think, and to discover. Brightly painted walls and colorful rugs, chairs, and tables will invite children to become frequent visitors and check out age-appropriate educational games and bilingual books.
To help establish the libraries, Growing with Books will partner with local community supporters who demonstrate a serious commitment to our goals. Our support is contingent on the local community’s ability to designate a building or a place to house the library, as well as to provide employees and volunteers to maintain it. Growing with Books will assist with employee training and support until the library becomes self sufficient.
Growing with Books will help with construction costs, material and labor, provide furniture, books, educational puzzles, and flash cards to create a friendly, safe environment for children.
Story Times will be offered at our permanent libraries. This is an opportunity for parents and children to hear a storyteller read age-appropriate books. Through the Story Times program, Growing with Books will introduce children to new concepts and ideas which expand their imagination, creativity, and create new opportunities. Young readers will increase their vocabulary, knowledge, and listening skills.
Parent Training is an important component of Growing with Books.
In many developing countries, children do not begin school until first or second grade. To help fill the void, we will provide information and basic training so that parents and caregivers can serve as surrogate teachers and become more engaged in their children’s education.
Ragadah Madanat Memorial Scholarships will make it possible for promising young Jordanian women to attend college. These young women will have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. Without scholarships, they would not be able to continue their education, leaving them bound to a traditional life at home, awaiting marriage.