Login

Month: March 2022

Human Rights Day

by

“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity” – Nelson Mandela. This quote captures the essence of why every year on the 21st of March, Human Rights Day is celebrated in South Africa. This day acknowledges those that fought against the pass laws in the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 and on a broader scale, for democracy. Tragically, 69 people were unrightfully killed by police officers in the Sharpeville Massacre. The protestors’ rights to life, dignity, equality, and freedom of movement were stripped away from them. Thus, this event is a reminder of how pertinent it is to learn from history and ensure that an atrocity like this does not occur again.

Human rights serve as a trajectory for the way people should be treated and should treat others. One particular right that should be focused on in a South African context, is the right to education. Although human rights are enshrined in our constitution, there is still significant work to be done to actualise these rights and not just ensure that everyone can access an education, but further, a quality education. According to a 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), eight out of ten grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning across all languages in South Africa. These statistics are concerning, but it does not mean that many South Africans are not trying to change the course of these statistics. One of the key areas affecting literacy rates is the provision of resources. Book Village aims to combat this and hopes to make reading more accessible to young South Africans through our online literacy programme.

We, at Book Village believe that education is the tool to empower the youth to live comfortable lives filled with opportunities. Book Village is dedicated to honouring the right to education by giving children the skill of literacy. Being able to read, not only allows for a sense of enjoyment, but it also enables children to grow their understanding of the world and make it a better place for all.

Happy Human Rights Day from Book Village!

Library Week 14 – 20 March 2022

by
Benefits Of Reading Aloud - Several Children's Books Laid Out On A Table

The Library and Information Association is celebrating Library Week 14-20 March 2022 with the theme of Re-Imagine, Re-Purpose, Re-discover…Libraries! https://www.liasa.org.za/.

Libraries continue to be affected by COVID and many are still unable to provide services to the communities they serve.  With this in mind, the theme for Library Week 2022 will look at the ways in which libraries are having to reimagine and repurpose their services and spaces so that communities will rediscover and see the benefit of their libraries.

The traditional hard-copy book library at Cosmo City Primary 1 school (where we are conducting our trial), was refurbished and re-opened in 2015 with funding and support from (the now closed) School Aid charity and the Peter Cundill Foundation. The Bookery NPO catalogued and covered the books that can be accessed in the library, as well as contributed towards the librarian’s livelihood for 3 years. The library was a thriving and much loved part of the school from 2015 until the beginning of 2020, when it was closed for book lending due to COVID. The book lending service of the library remains closed, and this has probably been the fate of many libraries across South Africa.

But the Cosmo City Primary library has been re-imagined!  It is still a busy, thriving space and it’s still devoted to books and reading.   In one corner the government’s Reading Champions take small groups of grade 2 and 3 learners and help them catch up on some of the learning time that’s been lost due to COVID. We work in another corner of the library, surrounded by lovely books, which sadly cannot be borrowed anymore, but the children often get a story read to them which they enjoy.  All children and teachers at the school are able to borrow books from the Book Village digital library at any time – and they’ve been loving it.  We’ve been focusing on the grade 1s this term, and they have become wizards at logging in, navigating around the library and borrowing their own books. We’ve been amazed by their progress in interacting with technology.

The Cosmo City Primary community really values books, reading and their library space, even though the library has gone digital. And for this, we think the children there are lucky to be surrounded by individuals who will encourage a safe space for learning and furthering the education of these young students.

Navigation

Get Involved

Sign Up To Be Part Of Book Village!

By signing up to become a volunteer, you will be among the first to hear when the Book Village app officially launches and have the opportunity to be among the first people in the world to start making an impact through the Book Village platform.