The Nal'ibali-Social Employment Fund Literacy Project not only provides work and literacy development but also promotes a spirit of volunteerism. Nomzamo Nqayi, 61, a former Nal'ibali-SEF Literacy Facilitator who now runs the Nomzamo Reading Club in Sweetwaters, Eastern Cape, exemplifies this.
Nomzamo began working with Nal'ibali in 2019 when she was recruited as a literacy activist by Dr. Nompucuko Zakaza, Nal'ibali's Eastern Cape Provincial Coordinator, to help with the organisation's activities in Sweetwaters.
"I began by telling stories to children at ECDs, parks, and events with the Nal'ibali team." Seeing more children's reading abilities improve made me fall in love with Nal'ibali's work.” she said.
Between September 2022 and March 2024, Nomzamo worked as a literacy facilitator for the Nal'ibali-SEF Family Literacy Programme. The Nal'ibali Social Employment Fund (SEF) Family Literacy Programme, launched in 2022, aims to increase the availability of literacy and play-based learning activities and resources for young children in underserved communities to strengthen language and literacy skills, and foster a lifelong love of reading. To do this, Nal’ibali-SEF literacy facilitators collaborate with Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, parents/caregivers, community partners, and schools to raise awareness of interactive play and the benefits of reading and sharing stories.
Nomzamo Nqayi shares stories with children from her reading club, Nomzamo Reading Club in Sweetwaters, Eastern Cape.
Nal'ibali, a Strategic Partner of the Social Employment Fund, has recruited over 1000 participants, including 900 Literacy Facilitators, 85 Team Leaders, and 15 administrative professionals, to implement the third round of the Nal'ibali-SEF project at 85 sites across five provinces: Eastern Cape, KZN, Gauteng, Limpopo, and Western Cape. To ensure that the team is equipped to run operations on the ground,the project works with training partners MacMillan Education (play-based ECD in KZN) and Axium Education (reading training in Eastern Cape).
As a Nal’ibali-SEF literacy facilitator, Nomzamo helped families develop an organised reading programme at home, distributed reading materials like the Nal'ibali reading supplement, and hosted storytime sessions in preschools and primary schools in Sweetwaters. She also led training workshops where she trained caregivers on how to share stories with children and supported reading clubs in the community.
Nomzamo believes that the Nal'ibali- SEF initiative has taught her the value of increasing children's access to reading resources in South Africa. "As SEF members, we noticed a lack of books for children at homes and schools. This initiative helps to close the gap. Nal'ibali-SEF reading materials attracted children because of their entertaining and interactive nature,” she stated.
In May 2023, Nomzamo established the Nomzamo Reading Club because of an increase in the number of children in her community who enjoyed reading. The reading club, which began with seven children, currently boasts 25 members.
"After my shift at the Nal'ibali-SEF project, children would come to my house to read and share stories." We started gathering once a week at my home until I created a reading club in May 2023. Now, we meet three times a week. We have a programme that encourages all children to develop their reading, storytelling, and drawing skills,” she explained.
Members of Nomzamo Reading Club preparing to share stories from the Nal'ibali children's stories anthology.
To promote a love of reading and storytelling among her reading club members, Nomzamo uses copies of the Nal'ibali reading supplements and books. "The children enjoy reading and doing the activities in the reading supplement. They're more creative than I expected,” she said.
Nomzamo feels that literacy volunteerism is one of the most effective ways to boost literacy in South Africa. "We are lucky to have projects like Nal'ibali-SEF but if community members could be involved in their children's reading journey, we would see change," she added.
Through hiring and educating people like Nomzamo, the Nal’ibali SEF Family Literacy Program develops literacy advocates who carry on promoting literacy in their communities when their tenure in the project is over. These literacy advocates help children in their communities develop a love of reading, which will help create knowledgeable adults who contribute to society. In a nation where 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning, literacy volunteerism can assist in addressing the literacy crisis.