Book donation is a fairytale come true
The Kidz2Kidz Foundation helped set up a reading corner in school in the Shongweni area.
THE KZN volunteer team for the Kidz2Kidz Foundation recently installed and set up a reading corner for the Grade R pupils at Kwacutshwayo Primary in Shongweni.
Its volunteer project team has worked with teachers from impoverished communities for more than 10 years. With a passion for uplifting teachers and providing improved resources to enable the education of all children, it saw the need for better reading materials to ignite a love of reading in the Grade R classrooms.
“Grade R has only recently been formalised, and many of our schools do not have sufficient reading material for the children at this critical age of learning and language development. The net result being that these children start their schooling on a back-foot compared to those introduced to reading at a younger age. Kidz2Kidz understands that children who are introduced to reading from a young age end up with higher levels of literacy and we recognise the need to find resources to help the teachers in these classrooms,” said the organisation’s Leanne Ried.
With input from Grade R teachers on their specific reading corner needs, Kidz2Kidz designed and built 20 reading corners in a pilot project. The bookshelf can be closed and locked to keeping the books clean and safe, is on wheels so it may be moved elsewhere when the classroom to be used for other community purposes during weekends, and filled with beautiful, brand new books to capture the children’s interest.
The team handed over 40 donated books, that comprised of both English and IsiZulu stories, a bookshelf, a bench, cushions and a mat, which culminated in a safe haven for the children to develop the love for reading.
“Being an avid reader it brings immense joy to see the excitement of these children over books and their eagerness to start reading,” said Farzhana Mickleburgh, one of the local volunteers.
World Book Day is on 23 April and Kidz2Kidz are running a campaign where donor schools can get involved by hosting a dress up day on Friday, 22 April to raise funds for a reading corner for neighbouring schools in need. Pupils are also encouraged to “take a shelfie”, a photo of their class in their school library and share it on social media using #WorldBookDay, tagging @Kidz2KidzTrust. If you would like to help the Kidz2Kidz deliver more reading corners, e-mail info@kidz2kidz.co.za.
