By Atlegang Seoka
Excited Samuel Ntlebi Primary School children lined the street outside their school to welcome a small cavalcade of cars last week.
The children sang, ululated and held up letters spelling out SIYAFUNDA EMAKHANDA. In the cavalcade was a bakkie loaded with books, shelves, cushions and carpets, a special delivery from project initiator Lucky Xaba and a team of Rhodes University librarians, including Rhodes’ principal librarian for learning support & community engagement, Sizwe Mabena.
Minutes later, the bakkie was unloaded, and a colourful and well-stocked library magically materialised in a Grade 1 classroom.
Ntlebi was one of four recent recipients of classroom libraries. The others are Makana Public Primary School, Grahamstown Adventist Primary School and CM Vellum. The idea for the Siyafundisa eMakhanda came to Lucky Xaba when she attended a Mandela Day uniform drive at Duna Library.
Xaba thanked the SALI Trust for helping fund the libraries and hoped every Grade One classroom would be equipped with reading corners in the future. Each library has bookshelves with diverse children’s books and comfortable cushions decorated with’ funda’ and ‘read’. The corners were designed to create an inviting and engaging space for children to develop their literacy skills.
They provide ready access to books and opportunities for group reading, individual reading and extended reading – all essential parts of the whole language experience that support reading for meaning.
For Xaba, engaging the youngest children in reading is the most effective way to introduce the value of storytelling and developing minds. Children who read early will most likely improve their learning ability across their educational journey.
Minister Siwelo, who was present in all four schools, extended her hand in prayer, blessed the project and said, “We are celebrating the person who took a risk and did not bury this vision.”
Rhodes University librarian Jabu Nene spoke about the importance of reading with understanding.
A CM Vellum teacher said, “Libraries are taboos for our community, but donations like this help close the literacy gap.” The Samuel Ntlebi department head spoke passionately about the reading corners, telling the grade one learners, “Now you can go forth and read!”
Functioning school libraries are sadly not the norm in South Africa. The vast majority of public schools fall short of international benchmarks.
