MARIGOT--First grader Timothy and his baby brother Joshua heard on SOS radio 95.9FM “about the financial difficulty the Book Fair Committee (BFC) is facing at this recovery period in St. Martin,” said the literary festival’s coordinator Shujah Reiph. The boys “asked their mother to break their piggy bank and give their savings toward organising the sixteenth annual St. Martin Book Fair,” said Reiph.
About three years before this goodwill contribution in March, Reiph had spoken to an early stimulation class on the importance of reading. Unbeknown to him, Timothy was a pupil in the class and went on to develop a love for reading.
When Timothy and his brother were brought by their mom to meet Reiph in March, Timothy told the Book Fair coordinator: “You motivated me to read and I don’t want the Book Fair to stop.”
“The BFC is thankful to Timothy and Joshua for their heart-warming gesture,” said Reiph.
He and Timothy met again at SOS radio’s Lazy Bay fair of “Made in St. Martin/St. Maarten” foods, books, and arts and crafts on March 31.
As a thank you gift to the two boys, Shujah presented Timothy with the storybook Ti Koko and Kush by British Virgin Islands author Patricia G. Turnbull.
St. Martin Book Fair will take place June 1-2.
