News & Articles

To commemorate Literacy and Heritage Month, Nal’ibali – the national reading-for-enjoyment campaign – in collaboration with Standard Bank have partnered to bring South African families six free brand-new children’s stories in African languages to celebrate and understand some of the unique customs practised by different cultures in South Africa.     Included in the series titled, ‘Celebrating Mzansi’ is an isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, and…

Hello there! I am Karen Olivier from Nelspruit in Mpumalanga.  Being a primary school teacher and having two adorable grandchildren inspired me to write children’s  stories. I decided to publish stories with Nali’ibali because I have first-hand experience of the positive effect that stories have especially on less-fortunate children who cannot afford books or don’t have access to libraries. Apart from the wonderful imaginary world to which…

Since its inception in 2012, Nal’ibali, South Africa’s prime reading-for-enjoyment campaign, has partnered with numerous stakeholders to maximize its impact. Now, in its 10th year, the campaign has expanded its reach beyond South African borders. Its latest collaboration with international language-learning platform, Duolingo, will offer nearly 50 million active monthly language learners across the globe the opportunity to learn isiZulu for free.  Duolingo announced the launch of…

I am Zahida Wahab and I am proud to call myself a resident of the Bayview community, which is a vibrant, melting pot of diversity. It is also rich in the spirit of Ubuntu. This was my first foray into writing Children’s stories. I have always written for adults, so it was both challenging and enriching. I was inspired to write for children after joining…

It is a known fact that many grade 4 learners across the country are unable to read for meaning. The Eastern Cape is no exception, which highlights the importance of literacy interventions like Yizani Sifunde, which is providing underserved communities in the province with books and simple, high quality literacy practices for families and communities to adopt. Launched in 2021, Yizani Sifunde (isiXhosa for ‘come,…

When 22-year-old Asive Mcunukelwa from Molteno finally landed a job as an Educational Assistant at a local primary school in 2019, she was overcome with joy. She had been looking for work for a long time but, as it is for many other young people in her community, employment opportunities were scarce. However, after witnessing many Grade 7 learners struggling to read for understanding,…