Miss South Africa Shudufhadzo Musida joined GrandWest and Read to Rise to hand over books to Riverton Primary School and read to the youngsters. Picture: Supplied
Cape Town - Miss South Africa Shudufhadzo Musida has teamed up with GrandWest to encourage reading in primary schools.
On Monday, Musida was on hand for a handover of books to the Riverton Primary School in Bishop Lavis.
The collaboration is part of International Literacy Month, and to aid the cause of fostering a culture of reading, GrandWest has contributed R116 000 to Read to Rise.
Read to Rise used R100 000 of that donation to get a vehicle to deliver books, equipment, staff, volunteers and their mascot to and from schools across Mitchells Plain.
The books are aimed at learners from Grades 2 to Grades 4, and will provide the youngsters with an Interactive Classroom Programme as well as mini-libraries.
GrandWest General Manager Mervyn Naidoo said: “Schoolchildren in our disadvantaged communities only read about one to two books a year, but they need to be exposed to about 50 books in that time.
“Children not only need to learn to read, they need to learn to read to understand, which will assist them as they progress through higher grades, and it will spark their imaginations and creativity.
“We hope that through the Read to Rise initiative we will have sparked a lifelong love of reading and learning for pupils at Riverton Primary School.”
“There is no substitute for books in the life of a child.” - May Ellen Chase
— Miss South Africa (@Official_MissSA) September 17, 2021
Our Queen @abigailmusida continues with her book tour in Cape Town, visiting various schools. 🤩 #ShuduFindsHerMagic #BookTour #MissWorldSouthAfrica #ShudufhadzoMusida. pic.twitter.com/Podz63sSI4
Mini-libraries include 50 new books that will be placed in each classroom. These are new, age-appropriate books in different languages that encourage reading for pleasure.
Books are placed in a customised bookshelf and their use is managed by the class teacher via a reading tracker poster. At the end of the year, Read to Rise will revisit the school.
The learner in each class who has read the most books will receive a reward from the organisation.
Riverton Primary’s principal, Andrew Swartz, said the learners and teachers are grateful to GrandWest and Read to Rise for their assistance.
“Having this dedicated Interactive Classroom Programme and Mini-Libraries in classrooms will motivate our younger learners to read books, expand their knowledge and ultimately enjoy access to so many new books.”
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