By Vusumzi Mkhetshane
World Read Aloud Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday of February annually. This year, the day fell on 7 February. This is a day dedicated to reading and the art and practice of reading aloud. Readers are encouraged to read aloud for anyone anywhere. Historically, stories were passed down from generation to generation, even before writing was invented. The oral tradition of storytelling was the earliest way of preserving human knowledge, insight, and creativity. World Read Aloud Day enables us to highlight this tradition of reading while promoting literacy.
The South African Library for the Blind (SALB) staff decided to celebrate World Read Aloud Day differently in 2024. Staff read aloud the isiXhosa and Afrikaans titles “Kutheni Ndingekho Emfanekisweni nje?” by Kidi Bebey and “Pragtige Debo“ by Beatrice Lalinon Gbado. All staff were video recorded while reading in the comfort of their offices and their language of choice. The video sequence of each language was compiled, and each staff member continued from where the other left off. This exercise was done to encourage more people to read while also promoting these children’s books.
An English book title was approached differently as the SALB Audio Production Digital Technical Officer, Charlene Prince, read a book titled “Dear Zoo” by Rod Campbell to the Chief Executive Officer of SALB, Dr Pateka Ntshuntshe-Matshaya and staff who were seated in the form of a classroom. Staff would fill in the blanks in sentences in the book by guessing which animal fit the description called out by the reader.
Staff members enjoyed the reading exercise and being read to by Prince. This brought out the inner children in every employee who participated in the read-aloud day.
