Student teachers create free libraries

A new partnership between the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Read Educational Trust saw student teachers – third year, foundation phase of the Faculty of Education – using their imagination to make free, portable libraries so that books and other reading material can be more accessible to young learners.

“A total of 160 libraries were created,” said Lizelle Langford, public relations and fundraising manager for Read.

“Each showed hard work, effort, and initiative. The enthusiasm and passion they have for children and teaching was obvious.

“Two attributes of utmost importance since these young men and women are our next generation of educators.”

To create a free mobile library was a challenging project: the ‘library’ had to encourage and entice young children to read; recycled materials had to be used; students had to donate some books to supplement those provided by Read; and finally, they had to place them judiciously within their communities.

This innovative learning initiative module falls within UJ’s Faculty of Education and students are required to complete it as part of their curriculum. The module supports Read’s dedicated drive for literacy in South Africa. The Read Education Trust was established in 1979 and is a non-governmental organisation which helps South Africans develop their skills in reading, writing, learning, information and communication. The organisation works with the Department of Education to implement teacher training and literacy projects in schools.

One of the libraries which stood out was created by Selebaleng Mangole, who made hers into the shape of a teddy bear.

“Because teddy bears are warm and cuddly,” she explained, “children relate to them and are naturally attracted to them.”

She used recycled material from a carpenter who helped her to cut out the teddy bear shape. The front of the bear has a painted bookshelf for instant identification.

Open the doors of this library and you’ll find two shelves filled with books – one marked ‘IN’, the other ‘OUT’ to promote the concept of taking and returning a book.

Mangole has a daughter who helped her create her free library, which she’d like placed in her community in Kagiso. Having taught her daughter to read and write, Selebaleng believes there’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing how confident and excited children get when they learn these skills.

“It’s amazing to see how this changes their world,” she enthused.