Delegates at EI’s recent World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, were encouraged to ‘bring a book’ from their country as part of the ‘Bring a Book’ initiative to help populate a library and highlight the fact that almost 70 per cent of schools in South Africa do not having access to a properly equipped library where children can learn and teachers can teach.

EI joined forces to work with Equal Education which is a movement of young people, parents, teachers and unions working for quality and equality in education across South Africa. Equal Education is supported by South African teachers’ unions, NAPTOSA and SADTU.

Delegates at EI’s World Congress contributed more than six hundred books from around the globe.

The Kayamandi project was initiated by two Fulbright Scholars placed at the school who decided to help establish a library at the school as part of their internship. They approached Equal Education for assistance and have been actively involved in sorting, labeling, classifying, covering and cataloguing the books.

Last week, it was the turn of St Agnes Primary School in Woodstock, Cape Town, to open its new library’s doors.

Equal Education’s Dmitri Holtzman told learners that their school was now “among the seven per cent of schools in South Africa to have a functional library. However, access to a functional library should not be a privilege enjoyed by only a minority of the country’s learners.”

“While the responsibility to provide schools with libraries ultimately rested with government, it is important that individuals, communities and organisations also play their parts, and work hand-in-hand to address the backlog in school libraries. The establishment of St Agnes Primary’s library is an example of this kind of collaboration.”

Western Cape Minister for Education Donald Grant was among those who attended the opening.  

For more information on upcoming library openings and ways you can assist the Bookery, contact Cosmas at cosmas@equaleducation.org.za or visit www.equaleducation.org.za