THE LEARN Project recently celebrated International Book Giving Day (February 14) at Sogidi Primary School by making the school its 25th beneficiary school to receive the gift of knowledge and literacy.

The organisation established a functional and sustainable Intersen Library and four book corners in each of the foundation phase classrooms to create a language-rich environment conducive to learning and reading.

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Together with the key sponsor of this project, Ignition Group, a company passionate about making a meaningful impact in the communities they serve, The LEARN Project set about bringing this long-term dream of the school to life.

“Collaboration is key as we unlock minds – our future leaders are on the rise. Our why and our purpose is strong. We are actively on a mission to transform lives through the power of books and literacy, by establishing functional libraries and book corners in disadvantaged schools, and by empowering teachers and learners along the way. It is in truly living purposeful and meaningful lives that we bring meaning and freedom to the lives of others. United we rise; together we educate our rainbow nation,” said Roslynne Toerien, CEO of The LEARN Project.

Close attention to detail was given in the preparing and covering of the 1 423 library books, which included a variety of fiction, non-fiction, reference, teacher reference and display books, as well as levelled readers carefully selected and graded to assist those learners who are still learning to read with confidence and meaning.

“The library includes a variety of educational games, puzzles and literacy resources, as well as cushions, literacy charts and decor. All this would not be possible without the incredible support of our LEARN volunteers and Ignition Group team who selflessly gave their time to help us clean, cover and prepare thousands of children’s books,” added Torien.

“We’re passionate about making a meaningful impact in the communities we serve, and so is The Learn Project, a non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing literacy and reading skills in the youth. As part of this partnership, we embarked on a joint initiative to install a fully equipped library and book corners at Sogidi Primary School. This project aims to provide the learners with access to a diverse range of books and resources that will inspire learning and ignite their minds,” said Samantha Botha, head of group marketing at Ignition Group.

To ensure the library will be well used and looked after, The LEARN Project trained every teacher in the school on their library training course – ‘Welcome to the Library’ – as well as educated, equipped and empowered a teacher librarian and 12 library monitors who are now the reading ambassadors of their school.

About 300 foundation phase books were also accessioned into registers for the grade 00 to 3 classrooms.

A rundown classroom in urgent need of repair was identified which prompted a transformation journey. Replacing windows, repairing and painting the room, installing a brand new library and shelving, and providing tables and chairs – the transformation was one for the books.

Visit www.thelearnproject.co.za for more information.

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