Two more stories for children on Facebook on Saturday
On Saturday, Madoda will read two stories, both authored by him
As the lockdown enters its third week, poet and writer Madoda Ndlakuse takes over the baton from raconteur Bongiswa Kotta-Ramushwana for this week’s Books Beyond Words online story telling event on Facebook.
South Africa’s annual reading awareness week, National Book Week (NBW), dedicated to encouraging leisure reading and promoting the importance of books, initiated the weekly event as the lockdown started to entertain children with stories on Saturdays.
A multifaceted personality, Madoda is a storyteller, poet, writer and a reading activist. He spends a lot of time in communities promoting reading for enjoyment, especially among children, encouraging them to learn from their own stories.
He has also written a children’s book called Umtshato WeNtlanzi Nenkukhu and is a founder of the Eastern Cape Book Festival. As the lockdown kicked in at the end of March, parents, forced to work from home, had to quickly find a balance between working, entertaining and endless rounds of the kitchen.
“Streaming platforms provide some respite, but there’s only so many cartoons you can watch in a day. Thankfully for us, a number of children’s book authors and story tellers warmed up to our idea and decided to use their skills to help bring some entertainment to families in isolation,” says Elitha van der Sandt, CEO, South African Book Development Council.
On Saturday, Madoda will read two stories, both authored by him. The English story is titled A visit to Qhagqiwa Library and the second, uHagwana, is an isiXhosa story. uHagwana is a story about a piglet who overcomes challenges in his life with a positive attitude.
The event will be live on National Book Week’s Facebook page at 11am on April 11.
All broadcasts are recorded and if you have missed the previous week’s story, you can find it on the Facebook page.
National Book Week also plans to include stories for children who are deaf and hard of hearing and is inviting story tellers who can communicate in sign language to participate.
The SABDC pays the story tellers, bringing some relief to the loss of income in the cultural sector during lockdown. Interested story tellers can contact them via their Facebook page or on email bookweek@sabookcouncil.co.za
