A THOUSAND books were collected for various public school libraries in North Durban, thanks to donors who generously opened their hearts during Literacy Month this September.
The project was spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Umhlanga, together with the Interact Club of Tongaat Secondary and Helene Griffiths of Granny Griffs who agreed to the premises being a collection point.
Cohan Arjoona, president of the Rotary Club of Umhlanga, said the book collection drive was initiated by the club. Books were then handed over to the Interact Club of Tongaat Secondary to distribute to school libraries in the area which are under-resourced.
“The schools that will benefit from this drive will finally have libraries with books for learners to read. Literacy rates in South African schools have climbed by a small percentage since last year, and it’s drives like these that assist in mitigating this challenge,” said Arjoona.
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“We are grateful to the various communities who not only donated books but DVDs and stationery, too. It’s heartwarming to see the love and care coming from the community. We are also thankful to Helene for collecting all the donations for us,” he added.
Arjoona said the clubs were satisfied with the success of their first pre-loved book-drive collection.
Griffiths, who is an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Umhlanga, said she was only too happy to assist with the collection of the books and that it was no surprise to her to see people come forward and donate.
“Whenever help is needed, this community comes forward and does what needs to be done. These books will go to where they are needed so thank you North Durban for coming through. I met a lot of people for the first time, too, which was great,” she said.
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