National Book Week 2018

National Book Week (3-9 September 2018) is aimed at uncovering the thrill and magic of reading books. The idea is that when the nation learns to share the joy of reading books, the country as a whole benefits as this leads to empowered, self-reliant communities. Let’s encourage reading as a fun activity, and so promote indigenous languages, local authors and library awareness and access.

Go through your house, your study, your office – see which books you haven’t read in a while. Find your children’s discarded books. We have a variety of Causes who would love to share the joy of reading with their beneficiaries.

A 2016 study shows a disturbing increase in the number of households in South Africa that do not own a single leisure reading book. Only fourteen percent of the population are committed readers.

Reading and literacy are at the heart of personal growth, community development and a thriving nation. Having as few as 20 books in the home is proven to have a significant impact on propelling a child to higher levels of education. Children who read are able to easily transcend hurdles often imposed by the low educational levels of their parents, their community’s economics or the political systems of their country.

Books in a home have a strong effect on children’s educational attainment even above and beyond such factors as the educational level of parents, the country’s GDP, parent’s occupation or the political system of the country. Other benefits of reading include:

Improving imagination

Increasing intelligence

Boosting brainpower

Building vocabulary

Increasing productivity

Improving cultural diversity and social cohesion

Economic empowerment

Find an opportunity to donate books near you and give the gift of reading!