Booksellers’ new chapter
Entrepreneurs who once lived on the streets share success story with pupils
A LOVE of reading drew two different worlds together this week when pupils from St Mary’s DSG in Kloof spent time with booksellers Richard Nzima and Pat Khumalo from the Denis Hurley Centre’s “Booksellers of Mzansi Project”.
Having fallen on hard times, Nzima and Khumalo lived on the street before becoming book entrepreneurs under the centre’s Economic Empowerment Project.
And as well as sharing their love of reading with the pupils, their perseverance to succeed against all odds was a lesson in itself.
St Mary’s Grade 12 pupil Sekwanele Gcaba organised the visit of the two booksellers after reading about Nzima in the Independent on Saturday.
“This year at a school we have a theme ‘Knowing me, Knowing you’ which every department throughout the school is interpreting differently. In the library, we are aiming to hear genuine South African stories on how books may have impacted or changed their lives. Mr Nzima’s story is the perfect epitome of this.
“I think it’s also important for those who live in an affluent community to be reminded of the reality faced by those who live under different socio-economic circumstances,” said Gcaba, who enjoys current affairs, with her favourite subjects being business studies and history.
And one of the most stark contrasts was that the booksellers can live off R20 a day, which would translate into a muffin at break time for school pupils.
The girls warmly welcomed Nzima and Khumalo, who following their talks were surrounded by pupils who wanted to know more about their lives, as well as sharing a common love of books.
After his wife died last year, Nzima wanted a fresh start and came to Durban from Mpumalanga on a job offer which turned out to be a scam.
He ended up living on the street where he heard about the centre which has various projects to assist the homeless and those in need.
He joined the Booksellers of Mzansi Project where the participants sell donated second-hand books as well as new books from Hashtag Books which partner on the project.
Nzima told the pupils that he worked seven days a week and when not out selling from his bookstall, he was organising his book collection, as well as pursuing new venues for his stall and working on his marketing concepts.
Pat Khumalo, an avid reader, was working as a car guard outside a local museum when he met Nzima.
“I love reading and can’t go to sleep without a book resting on my chest and after meeting Richard, I also joined the project in January. Richard has taught me everything I know, from how to acquire and choose books to finding new places to sell and how to lay out my books.
“I am starting to take my books into the townships and I’m hoping some of the shopping malls will allow me to set up my book stall,” said Khumalo, adding that he had just finished reading Philippa Gregory’s The Other
Boleyn Girl.
Speaking to the pupils, the booksellers’ project co-ordinator, Stuart Talbot, welcomed the invitation to the school and said there was a need to bridge the huge discrepancies in society.
“We need to have opportunities for people to tell their story. With regard to Richard, he has become an entrepreneur and his earnings selling books will allow him to pay for his daughter’s education next year,” he said, adding that the project had been growing rapidly.
The school donated books to the project with Bernice Blitenthall from the school’s learning resource centre saying that the event was the first of a series planned under their “Listen Up Library” theme whose goal is to “open up our learners’ minds”.
If you have a possible venue for a bookseller, contact 083 384 4410. If you have books to donate, contact 0837781991.