Reading is fun for Eldos kids
“We really just want to make a difference,” said Meyers.
Many children along with their parents came out to support the meet the author reading and signing session that was held at the Eldorado Park library in Extension Five on Saturday, 19 January. The reading session was made possible by Ethnic Kids, an online bookstore that distributes reading material for children from the ages 0 to 11. Khumo Tapfumaneyi, who is the co-founder of Ethnikids said that the main mission at the organisation is to create a reading nation.
“We usually cater for people living in the north but we decided as an organisation that we wanted to reach more people, we then approached government and we have officially started our Kasi tour right here in Eldorado Park,” said Tapfumaneyi.
“We plan to visit other areas like Tembisa, Soweto, Mamelodi and then we will go to Alexandra. Our Kasi tour is part of a reading programme that we are doing because according to the United Nations this year is the year of indigenous languages so its important that we remind our children to be bilingual, the books that were read here today were written in both English as well as another African language,” she added.
The authors who read to the children were Tracy-lee Easthorpe and Bandile Sikwane. Tracy-lee is an accountant but her dream, from the time she could read, was to be a children’s book author. Her vision for her first book is to spark a curiosity for words, and a love for reading for meaning in a fun way. She hopes that the story of Obnoxious Naledi and the Poppysmic Fairy will bring joy, wonder and self-love into the lives of everyone who reads it.
Bandile Sikwane started his own publishing company – Ginger Goat publishing and writes children’s books and worked as a communications manager. Bandile said that he is aware of the need to encourage tolerance and acceptance of differences as an antidote to racism, therefore he encourages bilingualism by writing his stories in both Setswana and English.
Crystal Meyers from MUSE, a community outreach reading hub said the event was a success. “Our aim at MUSE is the bring back the love of reading to our children and with initiatives like this we can achieve that,” she said. Meyers, alongside Chantelle Louw, Lannice Christian and Jevanne Gibbs are working with the community in Extension One to make sure that every child can read. “We really just want to make a difference,” said Meyers.
The children were treated to a magic show by Michael the clown and everyone loved it. Nsiki Mkhizem who is the librarian at the Extension Five library said that events like this warm her heart because it teaches children to love the library. “I am so happy that Ethnikids chose us, all the children had a wonderful time,” she said.
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