READERS at Umbogintwini Primary School have been giving up their break time to help the school’s librarian, Sharon Pretorius, to restore the school’s reading garden back to its former glory.

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Pretorius explained that the reading garden project began two years ago and it had just started coming together before a fire razed the library to the ground on July 17 last year.

“The library garden was filled with debris and broken glass, a constant reminder of the tragedy, even after the library was rebuilt. I created the garden to be a place of tranquility where the learners could take a break from their classrooms and just relax and read. The learners helped to remove weeds in the garden and take away all the rubble from the fire. They helped me to lay the stones. Later this year I intend on creating a herb garden to teach children a bit about herbs, its medicinal uses and for cooking purposes. My dream is to have an environment of learning both indoors and outdoors. I’m very proud of the space we have created together,” said Pretorius.

The garden is used during lessons, during break times and for the book club. One of the learners, Okuhle Ngcobo, said, “I saw ma’am working and I couldn’t let her do it alone. She has made the school so beautiful,” while another, Sekhethelo Dlamini, said, “When other schools come here, they can see the beautiful garden we’ve created.”

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