Guest speaker McIntosh Polela
McIntosh Polela, author of the popular autobiography, My Father, My Monster, former police spokesperson and TV journalist, was the ideal person to launch the Mandela Day Library Book Club at Protea Glen Secondary School in Soweto on 5 November 2014.
In the book My Father, My Monster Polela documents the abuse he and his sister endured after the disappearance of both their parents. The autobiography shares Polela’s turmoil as he comes face to face with the man that robbed him of his childhood – confronting his father about his mother’s disappearance.
Polela, who turned his life experiences into words in order to share them with the world – like Nelson Mandela did with his book, Long Walk to Freedom – said that one of his passions lies in sharing his story, especially with youths like the learners of Protea Glen.
The school’s Mandela Day Library was recently upgraded and stocked with reading materials by PPC, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Kaya FM.
Many disadvantaged schools in South Africa have little or no access to reading materials, which means many learners will never get to experience the true value of books and reading.
The Mandela Day Library Book Club is an initiative by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and official partners Kaya FM and PPC, to encourage learners to read more and develop a deeper appreciation of books.
One of the aims of the book club is to raise awareness about the importance of literacy, and the power it has to bring about deeper thought processes in the youth and to broaden the way they think about their environment.
Reading is not only important for educational reasons and is not only about one’s ability to read and write; it’s also about the ability to grow one’s mind and be better informed. This is what makes literacy so important.
Proper education, libraries with the right materials and book clubs give both learners and teachers the opportunity to broaden their minds.
The Foundation, together with stakeholders such as the Kalahari book club and Exclusive Books book club, will spend time with the learners of Protea Glen Secondary School, developing concepts for discussion, and finding out what kind of books the learners would like to read and also what kind of books they need access to in order to assist them with their school work.
Protea Glen Secondary School learners kicked off the book club with Polela's autobiography My Father, My Monster
Guest speaker Polela, whose book will be the Mandela Day Library Book Club’s first read, said at the launch: “When I grew up at school, we one day suddenly had a library quite like this one, but we never used to read. I had a teacher, Sheryl Wood, who saw something in me, took me by the hand and said, ‘You have to read.’
“In the beginning, I didn’t understand why she wanted me to read, but as I processed the information and the words and as I continued speaking to people, I came to realise that reading made me speak better, made me express myself better with more confidence.
“I am excited today that you are receiving books,” Polela told the learners, “because by reading – if you take it seriously – 10 years from now when you look in the mirror, you will tell yourself, ‘This was a good opportunity and thank goodness I took it’.”
The learners, who questioned Polela over setbacks he experienced while writing his book and how he got over writer’s block, were excited about the book club.
The Director of Communications and Outreach at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Danielle Melville, addressed the learners, saying: “It’s never just a book, and this is the idea behind this book club: it’s about reading and asking questions about the books you’ve read.”
Representatives from PPC, Kaya FM and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, members of the school’s governing body, and founder of Ria Stars Football Club Ria Ledwaba were also present at the launch.