Our Story
Katie loved to read. She knew how to savour a good plate of sushi, and she consciously recycled anything recyclable! Katie was an avid climber, fearless and confident, supported by ultimate trust in her Daddy's guidance. She and her brother Jake had a blast pretending to be news anchors for "NPR news", giving the news and weather reports and just hanging out, arms draped around each other at every photo op. And with her Mummy, as well as all the awesome girly stuff and giggle time that only mums and daughters share, deep and heartfelt conversations and connections at every turn.
In 2008, Katie was rushed to hospital in the middle of a typical school day, and in just a few painfully short days, a brain tumour took her sweet life.
After over 20 years as an expatriate, I found myself, for the third time, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Throughout my expatriate life, I dedicated myself to working with children—both professionally and through volunteering, studying and raising and educating my own. Coming from an unsettled childhood myself my goal was simply to ensure every child I encountered felt seen and heard.
Nothing prepared me for the profound impact that Katie Jonis and her family would have on my life's journey.
I met Katie for the first time at the side of her hospital bed. Stroking her perfectly manicured hands, singing and reading to her whenever Jodi and Jon (Katie's Mum and Dad) had to leave the room. I never heard the sound of her laughter nor the tone of her voice, just the beeping of machines attached to her motionless body, but something profound stirred in me during those privileged moments I spent with Katie Jonis.
Following Katie's passing, and with her family's permission, I ran a book drive, collecting gently used books from the expat community and passing them on to local schools with limited resources. I designed a sticker to place on each book, and Jodi chose the project name 'Katie's Readers'.
The idea was to inspire and encourage others to hold a book drive in their own community, place a sticker on each book and give the books away to schools and organisations who didn't have the funds to purchase their own.
A simple way to honour Katie's memory.
Then, in true expat style, our family moved to Amman, Jordan, and another, much bigger project evolved.
While laboriously unpacking our household items in Amman, I realised we were holding on to a ridiculous amount of books and educational materials from our homeschooling days. I talked to my boys about donating them to a children's educational organisation in Amman, and they agreed.
After a little Google magic, I found Madrasati, Her Majesty Queen Rania's initiative to 'provide the most neglected public schools in Jordan with support for improving the physical and educational learning environments.'
Perfect!
I drafted an email.
Dear Queen ...
Of course, I didn't get to meet the Queen on that occasion (that comes later!), but I did have the honour of meeting Rawan, a Madrasati representative, who came to talk to me about the donation. We had coffee and talked for hours and hours.
Do you know those people you just connect with immediately? That was Rawan and me—and we are still friends today.
We decided that rather than dropping the books off at schools, we would gather volunteers, arrange visits and read stories to the children, introducing them to fluent English speakers and inspiring them to read through fun and dynamic activities.
We were so humbled and overwhelmed by the number of amazing women who volunteered with us! With our dedicated and passionate team, we created a programme that included stories, movement activities, games, crafts, and songs. Everyone involved had a wonderful time!
Some of our volunteers, whom we affectionately called ‘The Crafty Ladies,' prepared crafts and activities for the children to enjoy. We also held a book drive in Amman and collected hundreds of books to give to schools under the Madrasati umbrella.
As time passed, more teachers asked us to visit their classrooms, and more volunteers were willing to do so. Our little idea grew beyond our wildest dreams and evolved even further.
One of our original volunteers, Julie, quickly became my right-hand woman and partner on the ground in Amman. Her experience in Jordan and her wonderfully calm and steady approach to everything were, and still are, a huge blessing and invaluable support to me personally, and to our Katie's Readers mission.
Together, we devised a cunning plan and decided to pilot an idea to involve youth volunteers from local and international high schools.
We invited a team of students and teachers from the International Community School (ICS) in Amman to help trial the initiative. These youth volunteers would go into a local primary school and implement a Katie's Readers programme of their own, under the supervision of their teachers.
Our team trained the students in the Katie's Readers approach (based on principles found in neurodevelopment and psychology), how to manage their volunteer team and create activities that were relevant and fun for their little students (and themselves!).
The result of this trial was overwhelmingly positive. The motivation and commitment of the youth volunteers were incredible. The response from the primary school students and teachers was fantastic, and the connections that all the students made were so beautifully moving to witness.
We knew we were on to something. From then on, Julie and I focused on developing this Programme, which we named PASS IT ON.
After I returned to the UK, Julie held on to the reigns in Amman. She expanded to several local and international high schools. The Applied Science University gave outreach credit to the students participating in the Katie's Readers PASS IT ON Programme, and we facilitated a 5-year English Language Summer Camp with Madrasati in Palestine, training teachers and volunteers in our Programme.
Unfortunately, like many grassroots organisations, the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to much of our in-person work.
After a few years of laying low, we are ready to pick up our passion project and spread our Katie's Readers PASS IT ON Programme worldwide.
If you are an expat, an international school teacher or a young person with a big heart, or if you see an opportunity for Katie's Readers outreach programme in your school or community, please get in touch, and we'll see what magic sparks.
And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page to stay updated on more Katie’s Readers projects!
“The soul is healed by being with children.”
Dostoevsky