We live in a country where 60% of households don’t have a single book. In a bid to change this, Global Citizen (GC) Africa and Nal’ibali, a reading-for-enjoyment campaign, have partnered in a global online literacy campaign to promote a culture of reading in South African homes.
Recent studies show that only one in five South African children can understand what they are reading and that reading for enjoyment is key to reading competently.
This is why GC Africa approached Nal’ibali to team up with them in their #TurnThePage campaign, to promote a culture of reading amongst our youth. The campaign - which runs from 24 July to 7 September - combines digital and offline activities that celebrate literacy.
Launched at the end of July at the Mall of Africa in Midrand, the #TurnThePage campaign kicked off with a pop-up library, and the public is welcome to buy or donate used books at the pop-up library until 7 September.
If you are in Cape Town, you can drop off your donation at the Nal’ibali Cape Town office, in the Waverly Business Park in Mowbray.
The #TurnThePage campaign and book donation drive will culminate over the weekend of World Literacy Day on 8 September 2019, and the event will include reading corners, live readings, author and child-author interactions, book donation “hubs”, and book signings.
Some of the books will be donated to Nal’ibali’s Story Power in Motion Programme, which consists of four mobile libraries operating in in select townships in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape and Gauteng.
Loaded with books, stories and other reading materials, these colourful libraries will not only promote a culture of reading for joy, but increase access to children’s books for those living beyond the easy reach of a public library through a set weekly route, and fun weekly public literacy events.
For more information about the Nal’ibali campaign, or to access children’s stories in a range of South African languages, visit www.nalibali.org. Join the FUNda Sonke loyalty programme at www.nalibali.mobi. You can also find Nal’ibali on Facebook and Twitter: nalibaliSA.
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