It’s hard to tear teenagers away from their mobile devices, but National Card and Letter Writing Month brings reminders that not all young people are obsessed with texting.
At one Kenyan boys’ school, mobile phones and social media are banned — so students put pen to paper when they want to communicate with each other.
“While other young people around the world are busy texting each other, we have had to re-invent ways of keeping in touch with our friends,” explains Jack, one of the students, in a recent BBC news report.
Students spend their free time crafting creative and calligraphic letters. A postman then navigates the busy streets of Nairobi to deliver the letters to excited students at a nearby girls’ school.
One recipient, Danielle, prefers this mode of communication.
“On a phone you can’t express yourself the same way you can in a letter,” she says. “I like the handwriting. The calligraphy really pops — it makes me want to read it.”
Says Jack: “Some people say letter writing is outdated or old-fashioned, but it does work for us.”
