In support of World Literacy Day which was celebrated yesterday, one Western Cape mall is rallying to make an impact on a local level. The Liberty Promenade Mall recently appealed to the public to donate books as part of its #ReadDreamRepeat campaign, and the response to date has been incredible. With the support of the community and various organisations, 4 381 books have been donated to date, with many more expected before the campaign comes to a close on 18 September 2021.
The book collection drive that launched on Mandela Day, aims to help boost literacy levels by providing both new and pre-loved books to six local, public, government-funded schools. Various corporate organisations and individuals have come forward to assist. At the onset of the project, Liberty Promenade set the ambitious target of collecting 6 700 books and it looks like this much-needed initiative will achieve exactly that.
As a significant percentage of South Africa’s adult population is illiterate, UNESCO recently pointed out that beyond the conventional concept as a set of reading, writing and counting skills, literacy is now understood as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital, text-mediated, information-rich and fast-changing world.
Essentially, if one canāt read, it is almost impossible to participate in modern life. The solution lies naturally in the provision of education, coupled with access to books. However, books are frequently missing from libraries in community schools that grapple with a lack of resources on a daily basis, with some struggling to keep the lights on.
The six benefitting schools are the winners of Liberty Promenadeās recent Next Generation 2020 competition: Eastville Primary, Eisleben Road Primary, Portland Primary, Searidge Park Primary, Spine Road High, and West End Primary. These schools entered this competition in order to win a share of R60 000 to improve their facilities. The #ReadDreamRepeat donated books will assist in expanding their currently scarce library collections.
āBooks are an essential ingredient in ones journey of education. Not only do they help develop cognitive skills, language, vocabulary and imagination, they also aid in the development of a child’s brain, their ability to focus, their concentration as well as social skills and communication skills,ā said Brenda Bibby, General Manager of Liberty Promenade. āWe are humbled by the donations received from various members of the public as well as corporates and organisations. The bulk of the books donated to date are suitable for high schools learners. The mall therefore calls on donations of books that are aimed at primary school learners between the ages of 5 and 13,ā she added.
Books can be donated by being dropped off at either the information desk or in the food court at the Liberty Promenade Mall, in AZ Berman Drive, Mitchells Plain. There are also drop-off points at Cape Town International Airport in both the domestic and international arrivalsā terminals.
Heart FM is the media partner for the #ReadDreamRepeat campaign, and have encouraged their listeners to support the initiative, with regular updates provided. This station will broadcast live from the mall on the campaignās closing date, Saturday 18 September between 10h00 ā 14h00.
Location of Donation Sites:
Liberty Promenadeās Information Desk and Food Court, Mitchells Plain (A.Z Berman Drive, Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, 7785)
Cape Town International Airport, Domestic and International Terminals.
Liberty Promenade is a COVID-19 compliant, SAFE certified shopping centre, and with safety as a priority, the donated books will follow a strict sanitising protocol, prior to distribution to the schools.
