“There's no better time to make a difference than today!” With these words Willie van Wyk of Coca-Cola Port Elizabeth, together with Hendrik Kanise Combined School principal Elaine Louw-Balie, teacher-librarian and Library Project manager Thobile Ncula and Lynette Dyce of The Rescue Seed Foundation opened the new school library in Alicedale recently.
“There's no better time to make a difference than today!” With these words Willie van Wyk of Coca-Cola Port Elizabeth, together with Hendrik Kanise Combined School principal Elaine Louw-Balie, teacher-librarian and Library Project manager Thobile Ncula and Lynette Dyce of The Rescue Seed Foundation opened the new school library in Alicedale recently.
Even the pouring rain didn't put a damper on the anticipation and joy of the parents, teachers and pupils. Their dream of having their own school library was finally being realised, with the support of the school community, Rescue Seed Foundation and Coca-Cola.
Louw-Balie said the project had begun a few years ago as a way to improve language proficiency and give pupils more exposure to reading. A rural school catering for pupils from Grade R to Grade 12, Hendrik Kanise is in Alicedale's Kwanonzwakazi township, 55km from Grahamstown.
Port Elizabeth is 110km away, making travelling to either centre expensive for residents in the small town, which has no big industries or brand-name shops. Unemployment is high and most pupils at the school live with grandparents who depend on state pensions to support their families.
They have little extra to offer the school in its fundraising campaigns. The school nevertheless strives to provide a holistic education, encouraging participation in sport and cultural activities such as choral singing, as well as academic pursuits.
“With a library on the school premises, we want to join the Community Library in promoting a culture of reading and the love of books,” Louw-Balie said. “We hope individuals will assist us with appropriate book donations, becoming our partners in improving the academic attainment of our learners, providing entertainment and opening their minds to the world outside of rural Alicedale and the opportunities that it offers.”
Louw-Balie expressed her sincere gratitude to all who had helped establish the library, especially Coca-Cola, who donated the shelves and Rescue Seeds Foundation who supplied books, a television monitor and curtains. Juliet Billings of the Rescue Seed Foundation said, “A library is not a shrine where one looks at books, but should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas.”
