Sunday Times and The Tshedo Impact donate 1,000 books to Gauteng schools

Four schools in Gauteng celebrated World Literacy Day with pupils reading after the Sunday Times donated 1,000 books to them on Wednesday.

The donation was a partnership between the Sunday Times and The Tshedo Impact, a foundation established by entrepreneurs Dolly and Tshepo Mahloele.

The Tshedo Impact joined Unesco and other like-minded organisations around the globe in celebrating World Literacy Day.

The books donated by the Sunday Times were delivered by The Tshedo Impact to schools in Centurion, Randfontein and Mabopane. The foundation’s trustees visited one of the schools, Valhalla Primary School in Centurion, to deliver books and spend some time reading to the children. This week is also National Reading Week.

The Tshedo Impact is a non-profit organisation launched five years ago to make a difference in the fields of education and entrepreneurship. It has been involved in several educational initiatives. At the heart of the foundation is the belief that every person can make a success of their lives.

“Sometimes all people need is the right kind of support and guidance to tap into a person’s potential. The donation is our little way of supporting these kids to make a success of their lives,” said Dolly, adding that this year the world celebrated Literacy Day with children facing a range of challenges.

“We dream of a SA where every child can read and write, and where every child starts and finishes school in record time. But that dream is under threat, with many children still not going to school because of Covid-19.

“It is sad that many early childhood development centres that closed in the first few weeks of lockdown have still not opened their doors to children who so desperately need to access these educational facilities. It is also a sad fact that thousands of schools around the country still cannot operate to pre-Covid-19 levels.

“In SA the pandemic has disrupted schooling and has changed how our children are taught and learn. The time that our children have spent away from the classroom may never be recovered. But with a book in their hands, these children can still read and find a way to escape from the harsh realities of this pandemic, even though they may be away from the classroom. That is why we are excited that we can donate these books.”

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