This June, as we remember the Soweto youth who protested the use of Afrikaans and English as the languages of school instruction amongst other injustices, the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment campaign calls on aspiring and established authors to donate their original African language stories. South Africa faces a critical lack of children’s literature in indigenous languages and Nal’ibali believes is is these stories that motivate and inspire...

I am Melody Ngomane, born and bred in Hazyview, Mpumalanga. My first contact with Nal’ibali was in 2019 when I submitted stories for their radio stories season 5 submission. I have since submitted 21 stories for both Seasons 5 and 6. Some of those, namely The old woman and the bee, The mirror in the jungle, The kind man, Daisy’s little voice and Lazy Lollie were...

The foundations of language are laid and set before children reach Grade R, when, based on this, researchers can predict children’s future educational attainment. However, with attendance at early childhood development centres lower than it has been in the past 18 years, many young South African children are facing a gloomy future. Three literacy NGOs, supported by Liberty Community Trust, have teamed up to...

Khangu Ntuli “Children who enjoy reading also excel in subjects other than language! They are able to express themselves more fluently, communicate with others, and become independent readers through reading. I highly recommend the FUNda Sonke loyalty programme to friends and family”. Khangu is a language teacher at Kwamiya Primary School in KwaZulu Natal. Her school joined the Nal’ibali programme in 2016 and she was elected...