Inspiring children, communities with stories of hope
CHILDREN and communities on the Cape Flats needed inspirational stories with a message of hope, celebrated author and grand slam poet Athol Williams said at the opening of the first ever Mitchells Plain Read to Rise book festival at the weekend.
Williams was born in Lansdowne and grew up in Mitchells Plain. He has gone on to become the first person to earn five Master’s degrees from five global top-ranked universities and has published four collections of poetry, four children’s books and his autobiography Pushing Boulders.
Williams said the Mitchells Plain community needed an outlet to show its creativity and imagination.
Held at West End Primary School, the festival attracted people young and old.
NPO Read to Rise, which aims to inspire reading and make high quality books available to pupils, was established six years ago and has since distributed over 160 000 Oaky books to pupils in Grades 1 to 4 across the province.
“We’ve got all these stereotypes: we’ve got gender stereotypes, racial stereotypes, violent stereotypes and the Oaky stories counter all of that,” Williams said.
“I believe we need to start investing (positivity) in children. I wanted (Oaky) to be fun and simple stories, songs and the questionnaires behind the book are there to uplift the kids and that is the vision of this festival.”
The festival kicked off with the Harvest Primary School marching band, and West End’s choir singing the national anthem.
In attendance was Premier Alan Winde and Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC Anroux Marais, who both described the festival as an important foundation for children.
“The event will make a difference in people’s lives moving forward into the future. We need to spend more time reading with children because the basis of education and reading is where it all starts,” Winde said.
Legendary local writer, poet and storyteller Diana Ferrus gave the audience a taster of her storytelling and poetry adapted from her book Die Vrede Kom Later. Parent, Sylvia De Louw welcomed the festival. “I always encourage my kids to read, even if it’s just a short story from a local newspaper. It will help them with their speaking and thinking,” De Louw said.
Organisers planned to make the festival an annual event, Williams said.