It has been a busy couple of weeks for the team at the Bookery, home of Equal Education’s Book Drive. Between 21 July 2011 and 10 August 2011, four school libraries, established through the Bookery Project, will be handed over.
Yesterday, the workload was made lighter by the many people who volunteered their 67 ‘Mandela Day’ minutes at the Bookery. By late yesterday afternoon, about 70 volunteers had passed through the Bookery’s doors, and more than 1 000 books had been covered. The Bookery team thanks each and every person who donated books, and who helped with the cataloguing and covering of books.
This coming Thursday, 21 July 2011, sees the official opening of the library at Sobambisana Primary in Khayelitsha. The Cape Times’ Alide Dasnois and the WCEP’s Vuyelwa Madasi will be guest speakers at the handover function at 13h00.
For this collection, the Bookery has sorted, classified, labeled and catalogued a choice of more than 3 300 quality fiction and non-fiction books, including books written in isiXhosa. EE’s Themba Tshabalala and a group of volunteers will be setting up a literacy programme at the school.
In the coming weeks, the following library openings will also be taking place:
- St. Agnes Primary School (Woodstock), 28 July 2011, 13h00
- Kayamandi High School (Kayamandi, Stellenbosch), 2 August 2011, 13h00.
- Lwandle Primary School (Khayelitsha), 10 August 2011, 13h00
While the establishment of these libraries is a step forward, let us not forget that less than 8% of South African schools have functional libraries. For more information on these library openings or how you might assist the Bookery in its work, please contact the Bookery’s Project Manager, Cosmas Mabeya, at cosmas@equaleducation.org.za or 021 461 4189.
