THE NOZINCWADI PROJECT

Gcina Mhlophe appeals for funds for books.

Celebrated author and poet extraordinaire, Gcina Mhlophe, is appealing for funds for The Nozincwadi Project aimed at getting South Africa’s children reading.

Founded in 2001 and based on her passionate belief that children from disadvantaged backgrounds can be encouraged to improve their literacy through reading, the Project’s core work centres on supplying Library Boxes to schools and community centres without libraries, as well as new books for struggling libraries.

It’s an admirable vision but one that Mhlope is finding increasingly hard to sustain – without a serious injection of funds.

“The fire is still burning and we feel that millions more children still need to benefit,” she says. “Now we say “Aluta Continua”. The struggle must continue! It is never over until our people see reading as part and parcel of our national growth”.

For Mhlophe, reading is at the core of her lifelong work as a poet, author, speaker and educator.

In pursuit of The Nozincwadi Project, this gifted individual has already travelled extensively throughout KwaZulu-Natal and across South Africa, visiting many rural schools, sharing the gift of literacy and inspiring future writers. Her Nozincwadi journey has also brought the importance of community to the fore. “Literacy is the responsibility of communities as whole and so our project also aims to encourage parents to get involved in their children’s development.”

Although it hasn’t always been easy to keep the project on the go, Mhlophe believes in changing the lives of children in South Africa, one book at a time. “Readers make great leaders! In today’s world, literacy and reading is the key that opens the door to the global village. But sophisticated computers and all sorts of modern forms of media are useless to a country that does not invest in the literacy of its people,” she says. Empowering teachers and librarians to ensure that literacy is accessible to the children in their communities is also a significant part of the project’s approach.

Gcina Mhlope is appealing to all South Africans to do what they can to contribute to the ongoing sustainability of The Nozincwadi Project – particularly its mission to add to its work around Library Boxes and new books through the stimulation and facilitation of community-based book making projects.

“It’s not easy to find the funds for projects when there are so many competing and worthwhile initiatives needing support. But my passion is reading and stories and literacy and I won’t rest until we find the means to see every South African child with their nose firmly stuck in a book!”

For more information contact: Gcina Mhlope at gcina@nozincwadi.com