THE partnership between Hashtag Books and the Denis Hurley Centre (DHC) over the past year has paid dividends for the homeless in Durban.
Anivesh Singh from Hashtag Books and director of the DHC, Raymond Perrier, met a year ago at an event in Durban and decided to come partner to make a difference in the lives of the homeless in Durban.
Speaking at an event this month, Raymond said the project has been a resounding success.
“Anivesh and I met a year ago and talked about a partnership. The Booksellers of Mzansi initiative was born, where donated books have been sold by the homeless at events and at the monthly book fair at Mitchell Park. Within eight months we sold R50 000 worth of books, and the money has gone into the pockets of the homeless men,” he said.
ALSO READ: Book project helps the needy
He also mentioned another success story of bookseller Kagiso Phihlela, who dreamt of furthering his education. Kagiso left his family in Limpopo and travelled to Durban in April last year with the hope of finding a job to pay for his Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Mancosa. However, Kagiso, who has a BCom Accountancy degree from the University of Limpopo, could not find employment and ended up living on the streets.
“Kagiso was introduced to the Booksellers of Mzansi initiative at the Denis Hurley Centre and has been selling books to pay for his first year studies at the Management College of Southern Africa (Mancosa). Since the publicity about how hard Kagiso is working to change his life, he was offered a registration scholarship from Mancosa for his second year’s studies, allowing him to pursue his dreams,” said Raymond.
ALSO READ: Durban homeless man earns living selling books
Support the monthly book fairs, which are held on the first Sunday of every month at Mitchell Park from 10am to 2pm.
Visitors can buy second-hand books from the booksellers, and attend launches of new books written by local authors.
Contact Anivesh on 083 778 1991.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
