Volunteers spark a love for reading in kids
THE Nal’ibali reading for enjoyment campaign relies on a team of dedicated local people in rural and urban districts around South Africa who ignite or spark the love of reading in children.
Story Sparkers are community-based volunteers who receive a stipend to assist the Nal’ibali project in establishing reading clubs, encouraging community members to form local action groups for reading enjoyment, and conduct reading-for-enjoyment workshops.
Nokuphiwa Tshabane is a story sparker for her community in the Eastern Cape’s verdant Wild Coast in the Bizana district.
The area is rural and community members survive by planting and selling vegetables and fruit on the streets. Tshabane has studied and worked in this community all her life, working as a library assistant at a local primary school before volunteering as a story sparker for Nal’ibali. Heather Robertson chatted to her
What is a Story Sparker?
A Story Sparker is a community mobiliser for reading for enjoyment. We promote a culture of reading and writing among kids from foundation phase in order to help them learn their vernacular, as well as English as their second language. The Story Sparker can infuse joy by using games, rhymes and songs.
Why did you choose to become a Story Sparker?
I love reading, I am energetic and I love to make a difference in my community by using Nal’ibali supplements.
Working for Nal’ibali is fulfilling my passion for helping others.
What do you enjoy most about being a Story Sparker?
I enjoy being around children, playing with them, listening to their stories and putting smiles on their faces by singing with them.
Sometimes I help lift children’s spirits, especially those who have problems at home.
By singing with them and telling them stories they forget the problems they came to school with.
How do young children respond to the work you do with them?
The young children love Nal’ibali story time. It is their favourite activity. They can amaze me with the stories they have and they don’t forget every story I tell them.
They don’t understand the reason I visit only once a week and always ask me to come more often.
What I have noticed about the children is that they love reading more now because it is fun and not a chore for exams or test marks.
What do you love about reading?
A book can take you to many places that you have never been.
When I was young at home we were very poor and no one was educated. I told myself I would change that situation through reading, which I have done and am bringing hope to children who are in the same situation as I was.
Story Sparkers seem like they become local heroes for the children. Can you tell us what the children say to you when you tell them stories? What sorts of questions do they ask?
The children have so many questions when you tell them a story and also have so many stories to tell you because they link the story to their daily lives.
The moment you tell them a story and make it believable, they feel like you know how they feel.
By sharing what the characters in a story have been through, the children start to be open about their feelings, what they like and what they don’t like.
Reading and telling stories with children in their home languages provides them with a strong foundation for language learning and increases their chances of academic success. For more information about the Nal’ibali campaign, or to access children’s stories in a range of SA languages, visit: www.nalibali.org