Commemorated worldwide on the 8th September every year, World Literacy Day is about reminding the world of the importance of literacy for people and communities, and the great need for intensified efforts towards creating more literate societies. As South Africa, there is still much more work to be done, as illiteracy causes many obstacles in the lives of people looking to work and become members of society. Read on for three ways that you can make a difference to improve literacy and education as a whole for our nation.
Wear your support on your wrist
There is no simpler and more effective way to show your support than through buying a Relate bracelet. Buying online or at their supporting stores, you have the option of two organisations: Shine Literacy, an organisation that seeks to create a culture of reading in South African schools, homes, workplaces and communities and the Nelson Mandela School Library Project, an NGO that aims to change the face of literacy in schools across South Africa through the deployment of refurbished shipping containers that are converted into libraries.
Swipe your support
South Africa’s leading community loyalty programme, MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet, various organisations committed to literacy education. These include Biblionef, the only book-donating organisation that supplies children with books in all 11 of South Africa’s official languages and Book Dash, which is aiming to supply 100 000 books for this year’s Santa Shoebox Project. Sign up for MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet at myschool.co.za or download the App and select the causes you’d like to support. Every time you swipe at their retail partners, a donation will be made to the causes that matter most to you, at no extra cost!
Donate to worthy causes
One of South Africa’s most prominent organisations, READ, has been around since 1979 in the fight to improve literacy throughout the country. With a direct focus on teachers, they provide them with the tools and high quality resources needed to effectively teach in the classroom. Funded by local and foreign donors and the private sector, READ also works alongside the Department of Education to implement teacher training and literacy projects in schools. To show your support to them, you can donate on their website.
