(Above: Some of the DHC
Street Lit Booksellers: Sbusiso Mnguni, Qhawe Mbatha, Eric Badise & China
Shabala. Pic supplied)
Help the Denis Hurley Centre to collect 10,052 books!
The vision of July 18 being Mandela Day is being spread across a whole month of July at the Denis Hurley Centre, with a month-long call-out to collect 10,052 quality second-hand books for their Street Lit booksellers, one for every day Madiba spent in prison.
The much-loved, feel-good, Durban-based entrepreneurship programme enables a team of homeless / formerly homeless men and women to earn a modest living, have a renewed life-purpose, and to encourage and enable people to read more books.
Project facilitator Illa Thompson explains: “With so many vendors selling books – and with new apprentice vendors joining the team - we need to keep them constantly supplied in quality books. So, we are launching a Durban-wide book drive for July: Mandela Month. The challenge is to collect 10,052 books – one for every day he spent in prison! After all, books must have been one of the things that kept Madiba sane for 27 long years.
“We are delighted that a number of churches across the city have agreed to be drop off points to make it easier for people to donate. The list is on our Facebook page and website and will be updated regularly. So, now is the time to pass on those quality books that you really loved, so someone else can enjoy them too”.
She went on to explain: “Conservatively, if there are 15 vendors selling at any one time – and say they each sell five books a day on average – that means we need to source 75 fresh books a day to keep their stock viable. And that is just our regular and permanent venues - excluding pop-ups and events, where the volumes are much higher. That means we always need a steady supply of loads of really good books!”
The vendors welcome Bibles, self-helps, best sellers, popular and award-winning novels; children’s books, Dictionaries (English and Zulu) and books in Zulu. Quality, current, good condition books only please!
There are places to drop off books. Please mark books clearly for Denis Hurley Centre – and ideally please drop them off in bags or boxes, for easy storage and collection.
The full list of
participating churches are:
Bluff: NGK Durban Oos, Old Mission Rd, Grosvenor (Mon, Tues, Thurs: 09h00 until noon)
Bellair: All
Saints, 1135 Sarnia Rd (Mon – Fri: 08h00 until noon)
Umbilo: St
Cyprians, 603 Umbilo Rd (Mon – Fri: 08h00 until 16h00)
Westridge: New
Noise, 76 Bank Terrace, Manor Gardens (Mon – Fri: 08h00 until 16h00)
Westville: Our
Lady of Lourdes, 14 Westville Rd (Mon – Thurs: 09h00 until 16h00; Fri 09h00
until noon)
Hillcrest: St
Dominics, 1 Mill Rd, Hillcrest (Mon – Fri: 08h00
until 13h00)
Central:
Glenridge at Durban Station (Mon – Wed: 08h00 until 16h00)
Central: Denis
Hurley Centre, opp Fish Market (Mon to Sun: 08h00until 17h00)
Berea: Musgrave
Methodist, Cnr St Thomas / Musgrave Rd (Mon – Fri: 08h30 until 13h00)
Morningside: St
James: 115 Venice Rd (Tues – Fri 08h30 until noon)
Dbn N: Dbn North
Methodist, 3 Swapo Rd (Mon – Fri 08h00 until noon)
Dbn N:
Presbyterian, 3 Round the Green, Sunningdale (Mon – Fri: 07h00 until 13h30)
Virginia: St
Margarets, 11 Delaware Ave (Mon – Fri: 07h30 until 11h00)
Umhlanga Rocks:
St Michaels, 6 Durban View Rd (Mon – Fri 08h00 until noon)
Ballito: All
Saints, 61 Townsend Rd (Mon – Fri 08h00 until 15h00)
The Mandela Day 10,052 books campaign will take place
throughout the month of July.
Additional queries – contact Illa on
books@denishurleycentre.org.
You will find the book vendors:
-Alvin Dube - La Lucia Mall, by Woolworths
-Sbusiso Mnguni - Ballito Life and Style, by the gallery
-Donel Tanbeni at the KZNSA Gallery;
-David Sithole – outside municipal satellite container
library alongside Workshop
-David Jones – Berea Centre;
-Bulelo Sigabi – Davenport Square
-Eric Badise & Godfrey Ngubo – Durban Botanic Gardens
Visitors Centre
-Richard Nzima & Khanyisile Cele – Pick n Pay Hyper by
the Sea;
-Vusi Meyiwa – Bluff Towers;
-Xolani Gamede – Umlazi Mega City;
-Anele Nyembezi around the taxi ranks;
-Qhawe Mbatha – Bridge City,
-Mongezi Mtolo - Cortado coffee shop, Musgrave;
-China Shabalala around town.
Look out for our
bright lime green branding!