Christa Mrope is a Community Education Mobilizer at Kising'a Isimani Primary School in Iringa region. She regularly listens to the Soma Nami (“Read With Me”) radio program, a radio show organized by the USAID Tusome Pamoja  (“Let's Read Together”) activity. Through Soma Nami, Christa and other parents in Kising’a village have learned techniques to improve reading and home learning support, promoting reading and literacy skills of their children and protecting children at home and in school. The Soma Nami radio program airs twice a week through two community radio stations in Tanzania’s Iringa region: Radio Furaha and Nuru FM.

Before implementation of USAID’s Tusome Pamoja (“Let’s Read Together”) activity, the overall academic performance of first and second grade students at Ndelenyuma Primary School in Tanzania’s southern Ruvuma region was not good. Student absenteeism was low, affecting the entire school during national examinations. Pupils’ attendance was especially poor for those who lived far away from the school. After lunch break, many students would not come back to school for the afternoon session, or sometimes would come late.