A child reads for the first time: Goose bump moment from an African project [VIDEO]

Can you remember your parents' reaction when you first learnt to read? I'm sure they were delighted.

But I'm sure they weren't as delighted as the residents of one African village when a small boy read by himself for the first time.

The video of that moment, shown below, was played at last week's Skoll World Forum and when I saw it, I got goose bumps.

The young chap was a recipient of support from the Community Empowerment Program, an initiative of not-for-profit Senegal-based organisation Tostan. The scheme encourages parents and other community members to create an environment for children’s development in a country where research has shown that certain social norms and traditional practices can hinder the brain development of infants.

Teaching a child to read is a simple but hugely powerful achievement. It opens up a world of possibilities and the community's delight in the video below illustrates that.

Wonderful stuff.