Literacy levels in South Africa are declining – and costs the economy upwards of R119 billion each year as 3 million people struggle to read, write and do basic maths, according to the World Literacy Foundation. The foundation’s Economic Cost and Social Impact of Illiteracy report revealed that 4.7% of South Africans have low-level literacy skills – and the cause is rooted in ECD.
MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet is committed to improving literacy levels in South Africa. We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to learn to read and write, and we are working to make that happen.
One way we are doing this is by partnering with organizations that work to rectify literacy gaps in South Africa. These organizations are providing access to books, training, and support to children and teachers, and we are proud to support their work.
Biblionef – Impacting 24 700 children with 148 000 books
Shine Literacy – 28 000 Books impacting 1500 children
BookDash – 300 000 books impacting 150 000 children
GROW ECD Centers – Corner libraries for 44 centers (1320 books impacting 2200 children)
Breadline Africa – 300 books and impacting 330 learners
Impande – 620 books for 4 ECD Corner Libraries , impacting 120 children
Santa Shoebox – 109 000 books with 30 reading corners (impacting 36 000 learners)
The Principals Academy Trust – 50 reading corners with 5 000 books, impacting 1240 learners
MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet and Biblionef SA also partnered on a 3-year program to support 10 Primary Schools from KwaZulu-Natal, providing them with high-quality home language storybooks, English storybooks and non-fiction books. The partnership also provided Foundation Phase teachers with essential workshops and in-class coaching and mentoring sessions, with the focus on how to incorporate storybooks into the CAPS curriculum easily. 60 teachers participated in the project each year – two teachers from Grades 1-3 were selected from each school, with the indirect impact being improved access to books and a new way of exploring the curriculum for 2 400 learners.
MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet General Manager Pieter Twine says that organisations like Biblionef SA provide a crucial function in society, as so many of the organisations 8 500+ beneficiaries do. “The amount of good done by organisations like Biblionef SA is hard to quantify, because it’s simultaneously such a massive help in an environment where so many people are in need, but it’s also just a sliver of the help the people of South Africa need overall. We work hard to help fund ECDs and support organisations looking to help make a genuine difference in their communities and the country as a whole and we want our supporters to know that every swipe of their cards genuinely counts,” he says.
