Ten primary schools in the Western Cape are in dire need of reading materials for learners and one shopping mall is rallying to help. Liberty Promenade Mall in Mitchells Plain has collection points set up, where the public and businesses can conveniently drop off new or pre-loved books that are much needed by these government-run public schools, with the assurance that they will land in the hands of those who need them most. This forms part of the centre’s popular #ReadDreamRepeat campaign, which returns for its second year.
Mastering the skill of reading is essential in a child’s educational journey. Reading enables children to understand feelings, which helps in their emotional and social development while they learn to associate their feelings with words and in doing so, are able to express themselves. Reading is also a vital component of enhancing depth of perspectives, developing one’s imagination, nurturing empathy and naturally, studying new material to ingest and learn.
Last year’s book collection drive at Liberty Promenade saw over 13 400 books being donated and distributed to various schools. The intention with the 2022 campaign is to beat that number and place a focus on collecting children’s books in order to address this specific need.
Heart FM have put their weight behind the initiative with an outside broadcast from the mall on 13 August to create excitement around the book drive and encourage their listeners to donate. To date, 3821 books have been collected.
Collection points are set up in the mall’s Food District and Information Desk. Books can be dropped off in line with the mall’s trading hours, until 17 September 2022.
“As a community-focussed mall, contributing to uplifting the community is central to our purpose,” said Brenda Bibby, General Manager of Liberty Promenade. “We see this initiative as a fitting opportunity to bring back this campaign that has the potential to, once again, make a lasting contribution to the schools in our area,” she added.
