EVERY Thursday is reading time!
Today all pupils at Boepakitso Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto, will stop whatever they are doing and, for about an hour, read.
Reading has become a tradition for the pupils over the years. The pupils have learned to love books.
Pupils and teachers read to the class, and afterwards the pupils may ask questions.
Lily Mbatha, principal of the school, said: “Mzansi is not a reading nation. This is why they started the dear period. It aims to encourage pupils to read and write.
“Reading can take a person to whole other places and worlds. It seems to be fantasy, but without reading we are doomed.”
Lily said their school is “print rich” or has many books to read, thanks to donations from READ Educational Trust, an NGO focused on improving literacy.
She said they have been in partners with READ for the past 20 years and they hope the partnership lasts forever.
Their children are now able to read and speak English very well, mainly because of the organisation’s help.
The donations benefit not only the pupils, but the teachers too. They practise special methodologies that literacy needs.
Mbatha told SunEducation the pupils now read for fun and they always get excited when new donations of books arrive.
Ewan Davenport, general manager of Pizza Hut Africa, along with a team of Pizza Hut staff and partners, have been delivering Red Reading Boxes from READ to many African schools, including Boepakitso Primary School.
Davenport said that their donations would not be possible without the company’s customers donating to the Pizza Hut African Literacy Project.
The pizza outlet relies on its customers to donate money to the project.
They aim to reach at least 100 million pupils 10 years from now.
For more information about the Red Reading Boxes, visit www.pizzahutafricanliteracyproject.com
