Legacy of the love of reading

A chance meeting between two old school friends has given 704 children the chance to better their reading skills.

Before she died last December, Nita Naidoo bumped into an old school mate, Maythree Ramawtar - now a teacher at Durban South Primary School - who told her the school library was in a bad state.

Naidoo was president of the Clairwood Park Rotary Anns at the time and wanted to help.

The 58-year-old raised R40000 to renovate and refurbish a classroom, transforming it into a library in which the pupils would be happy to spend time.

She also managed to secure sponsorship for 10 new computers.

But, sadly, Naidoo died before her dream could be realised.

However, her husband of 38 years, Gona, was not prepared to let the project fall by the wayside and he took over supervising the rebuilding of the library to create a legacy in memory of his wife.

On June 1, the initiative was complete and open for use by the school's Grade R to Grade 7 pupils.

"She was very passionate about children and improving literacy. She was a former teacher and knew the difference literacy could make to a child's life. All her life she did good. She was my pillar of strength - I knew I had to complete this for her," said Gona.

School principal Kisten Kisten said seeing a room that had been used as the school's "dumping site" transformed over the past few months had been "astounding".

Kisten, a principal for 16 years, added that having a library would make a big difference in the lives of the girls, who come mainly from surrounding informal settlements.

"We still need more reading material and software for the computers but this is the best of starts for us - to get us on the road to promoting reading," said Kisten.

He added: "When she [Naidoo] told me what she wanted to do here, my heart lit up when I heard the word 'library'.

"It will ensure our children are well prepared for the next step."

Juggy Naidoo, the incoming president of the Rotary Club, said even when Naidoo was confined to her bed during her illness, her main priority was the library.

"She made us assure her that we would continue to work on the project and be there for the children," he said.