Change lives: nominate a school to win one of 260 trolley libraries

Reading changes lives, but the sad reality is that only 16.82% of South African schools have a stocked library. How can you help change that? It's simple: nominate a deserving primary school or education NPO to win one of 260 trolley libraries worth R50,000 each courtesy of the Avbob.

This initiative forms part of the Avbob Road to Literacy campaign, in partnership Oxford University Press (OUP) Southern Africa, which aims to instil a culture of reading and contribute to improving the numeracy skills of primary schoolchildren across the country.

The inaugural Road to Literacy campaign saw 180 trolley libraries being distributed to worthy beneficiaries in 2022. For the 2023 edition, Avbob and OUP have upped the ante: not only are they giving away 260 of these mobile libraries, but each one will be stocked with more books and — in an exciting first — all of SA's 11 official languages will be represented. 

The importance of providing children with books in their mother tongue cannot be underestimated. “Experts, through various studies, have found that teaching in a mother tongue language helps to reduce dropout rates and makes education more accessible and engaging for learners,” says Kebo Mosweusweu, GM of shared value and sustainability at Avbob.

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) latest findings show that 78% of grade 4 learners in SA could not read with meaning in any language, because they are not taught basic literacy in the language they speak at home. This means that only 22% of the country’s 10-year-olds understand what they have read.

“A good reader needs a developed written vocabulary to read with meaning. This is why a child must learn how to read in their mother tongue. When they do, they develop this written vocabulary more easily as the words they read match the words they hear and speak,” says Hanri Pieterse, MD of OUP Southern Africa.

“Through this year’s campaign, Avbob aims to further reinforce its commitment to instilling a love of reading in primary school learners, nationally,” says Mosweusweu. “Equally important is the need to develop the numeracy skills at the formative ages of children.”

For this reason, each Avbob Road to Literacy trolley library will be stocked with an array of learning resources including numeracy books.

How to nominate a school

Click here to visit the Avbob Road to Literacy website and fill in the simple nomination form before April 14.

Tell us which South African primary school or educational NPO serving learners in grade R to grade 7 you think deserves a fully stocked trolley library, and motivate why.

The winners will be announced on June 8.

This article was sponsored by Avbob, Africa's largest mutual society.