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In the heart of the Limpopo farmlands, near the Botswana border, lies the village of Senwabarwana. Desolate and dry, the impoverished village (also known as Bochum), founded by businessman Stanley Thema, is one of the fastest-growing rural areas in South Africa.
Here, 147 learners attending Thabantsho Primary School have little choice but to walk kilometres every day just to get to class.
Jade Orgill, Project Manager at Breadline Africa, reports that while she was setting up the school’s container library in preparation for the launch event, some Grade 7 learners explained to her that none of them had ever seen a library before – and certainly not so many books in one place.
“Out of the five learners assisting me, only one could speak English,” she said.
On 13 May 2014, the learners watched in awe as the school’s all-new Mandela Day container library was unveiled. A permanent facility housed at the school, the library offers access to books and digital learning tools to the local community.
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“Via Afrika Publishers, the sponsoring company, has not only given the learners and teachers access to books, but also provided access to the internet, a computer-based interactive curriculum and 400 ebooks on 15 tablet computers. This is an incredible contribution to the school and the community, whose socio-economic status can only be described as highly impoverished,” said Orgill.
Orgill said that the sense of pride and community felt at the launch was mind-blowing.
“Principals, parents, tribal authorities and the Student Governing Body were all in attendance and everyone clearly understood and appreciated that the library, a community treasure, offers an opportunity to everyone to learn,” she added.
The resources provided by Via Afrika Publishers also extend to teacher and learner support for grades 8 to 12, which means that high school students and teachers in the community are welcome at the library, where they can access educational tools and teaching aids.
Librarian training initiatives
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Breadline Africa and the National Department of Basic Education have secured provincial support for the Mandela Day libraries project, which includes librarian training for educators and teachers managing the container libraries.
In addition to librarian training to be facilitated in October this year by Breadline Africa, Via Afrika Publishers will also be embarking on monthly visits to the school for a period of six months. This will ensure that the librarian will be equipped to train other teachers and learners on how to maximise the use of the tablet computers.