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...

Lack of access to reading material and books remains one of the biggest challenges in bridging the gap of illiteracy in South Africa. According to educational experts, fixing the literacy crisis would require the coming together of multiple players, and this is why three NGO's and the Liberty Community Trust have partnered to lend a helping hand. Research shows that 78% of Grade 4 learners...

Meet Bubele Retshe My writing journey dates back to 2005 when I fell in love with reading and the English language. It was the year that I was sent to a school where English was the medium of teaching and communication. At that point in my life, the only English phrase I knew with confidence was, "Good morning, ma'am." My English was so poor that I...

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...