(Right: JJ
Madwe & Richard Nzima , two of the book vendors working with The Denis
Hurley Centre’s innovative Street Bookseller project. Pic by Illa Thompson)
The Denis Hurley Centre is appealing for
donations of books to support their innovative Street Bookseller project –
known as Street Lit.
“Street Lit is the Denis Hurley Centre
project to help homeless people by giving them the chance to sell second-hand
books. We hope soon to get permission to sell on the beachfront over the
Festive Season and we therefore need a lot more books - fiction and
non-fiction, adult and children's books,” says the DHC’s Raymond Perrier.
“It is the perfect social cohesion project
– and a perfect passion project for this season. We would love donors to write
a little message in the book about themselves and what they thought of the book
which can be read both by the homeless person selling the book and ultimately
the person buying it – allowing the message of goodwill to travel through the
retail chain of the books gathered and sold,” he said.
Street Lit was the only KZN finalist and
came in the top six nominees out of 2,000 applicants nationwide at the SAB
Foundation Awards recently.
The DHC’s Street Bookseller project has
enabled 10 formerly homeless people to become entrepreneurs selling second-hand
books at events, malls, places of worship and literally on the streets of the
city. The goal is to train and empower 100 sellers. This project simultaneously
provides work for unemployed people and enables people to buy and read books in
an accessible and affordable way.
In order for this project to be fully
realised, additional funding will be required, so the generous grant from SAB
has sparked an awareness-creating campaign and fund-raising drive. The centre
intends to run a competition to find the most innovative ways to modify
shopping trolleys to become portable pop-up book stands. They will also need to
purchase a vehicle to transport vendors and books.
The Centre can access an almost unlimited
supply of high-quality second-hand books – but needs the help of the public to
do so. There are places to trade, people desperate to sell, and public are
eager to buy. Durban has been created a city of literature by UNESCO, but
almost 60% of South Africans don’t have a book in their home. This project
addresses these opportunities and can transform a beggar into an entrepreneur.
Do you have books at home that you no
longer want? Do you have boxes
cluttering up your garage? Do you want
to clear some space before Christmas? If
you give us the books we can transform lives; the alternative is that books are
just pulped for waste paper which is tragic
“We have 12 convenient drop off points
around the city. If you have a large donation, contact us and we will come and
collect from you,” says Perrier..
Drop off points are:
- St Dominic’s in Hillcrest: 1 Mill Road,
Hillcrest. Linda 031 765 1741 / linda@stdom.co.za
- Our Lady of Mercy in Kloof: 79 Old Main Road.
Thembi 031 767 0101/ thembiz@iafrica.com
- All Saints in Ballito: 61 Townsend Road.
Stephen 032 946 2905 / parishpriest@allsaintsballito.co.za
- iCare in Mount Edgecombe: 57 Hambridge
Avenue, Somerset Park. Shirley 031 572 6870 / shirley@icare.co.za
-Grace Church in uMhlanga: 400 uMhlanga
Rocks Drive. Dave 031 575 9300 / reception@grace.za.org
- Our Lady of Fatima in Durban North,:155
Kenneth Kaunda Road / Northway. Anna 031 563 5390 / reception@fatima.org.za
- Musgrave Methodist: 237 Musgrave Road.
Jan 031 201 2005 / jscorer@31.co.za
- St Josephs in Morningside: 21 Florida Road.
Rose 031 303 1905 / Roselyn.morrow@outlook.com
- DHC: Paddy Kearney Way. Jean Marie 031
301 2240 / stuart@denishurleycentre.org
- iCare 53 Stamford Hill Road. Shirley 031
309 4960 / shirley@icare.co.za
- Manning Road Methodist in Glenwood: Cnr Lena
Ahrens (Manning) and Moore. Nathi 031 202 8262 / office@mrmc.co.za
- St Francis Xavier on the Bluff: 21
Sormany Road, Brighton Beach. Pat 031 467 0524 / sfx@telkomsa.net
Donors are requested not to give books
directly to booksellers since they will struggle to transport them.
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