Words Can Change Worlds Campaign

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recently reported an unprecedented number of students worldwide are currently out of school during one of the largest and most widespread school shutdowns the world has ever seen.

In South Africa a large portion of school children cannot just move to online learning at home and a majority still have minimal literacy resources at home. More than ever children need to have their own home library of books, magazines and writing resources. With this in mind we have prepared Shine Literacy packs for every Grade 2 and 3 child in our seven Shine Literacy Hour Centre schools.

Shine Literacy’s mission for 2020 right through to 2021 is to ensure that every Grade 2 and 3 child in our Shine Centre schools – St Agnes, St Paul’s, Prestwich, Rosmead, Good Hope, Zonnebloem and Walmer Primary School have access to reading resources through the Words Can Change Worlds campaign for the remainder of 2020, in term 3 and 4. We also plan to extend this to the Grade 1 children in the schools. From 2021, we will distribute the resource packs monthly.

Your contribution can ensure each child receives a reading resource such as:

• A storybook;
• A literacy game;
• Creative writing material or the Little Issue magazine;
• Parent packs with helpful tips on how parents can support children with paired and storybook reading.

Through our campaign, we hope that each child we access can spread the love of reading and share their books and games with other children in their families and communities. Their parents will also be able to join Shine Literacy’s Community of Practice where they will receive tips on how to develop a culture of reading at home.

This will help improve the literacy outcomes of young children and will strengthen a culture of reading in South African homes and communities.