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Opening of the 27th Mandela Day Library at Qoyintaba Primary School, Kwazulu-Natal

Cans4Learning | admin | May 6, 2013

Along the majestic Kwazulu Natal tree plantations which stretch for kilometre after kilometre, a dirt road eventually leads you to a hidden, yet welcoming farming community by the name of Masamini. Qoyintaba Primary school is found here. Qoyintaba is the name of one of the ancestors from the Mbanjwa family, the owners of Masamini farm. In Zulu, Qoyintaba means mountain climbing.

On the 2^nd of May 2013, the 27^th Mandela Library opening took place. This is the second library by the Participate for Good Joberg2C campaign. The library is sponsored 6 motorbike riders: Herman, basil, Henry, Andre, Kevin and Aldo.

Qoyintaba primary was built in 1953 after Qoyintaba donated a site for a school and a catholic church – about 2km from the present site. In 1992 the Department of Education looked for a new site and the school was moved to the present site, which is centrally located for the Masamini residents. The school has become popular for its sporting activities, the gardening project and the well-developed culture. The school’s values include quality education, caring, honesty, non-racial and discipline.

Excitement filled the air as the community came out to show their gratitude and support for the school’s brand new library. The programme was opened in prayer and thanksgiving by Mrs Mzulwini, a community member. Mr Kunene (HOD) welcomed everyone both young and old to this significant day. He commented that 6 other surrounding primary schools will be welcomed to use and draw information from the library. Mr Mark Hauff, a local farmer working closely with the school spoke to the crowd in their mother tongue and pointed out that together with businesses and those riding for the school, a better future can be built.

Present at the opening were people from Old Mutual and Hytec. The director from Hytec said that the library adds value and is an investment into the children’s future. He added that Hytec has a culture of giving back to communities and the givers are blessed to do this for this rural community.

“In our community it is common for us to sing and dance when we are happy” said the programme director. At which point the school choir, lead and directed by a dynamic disabled school boy, began singing. This was followed by some cultural dancing from the Ingoma female learners.

История создания автомобиля

Opening of the 26th Mandela Day Library at Mahlodumela Lower Primary School

Cans4Reading | admin | April 30, 2013

The morning of the 25th April 2013 started in a frenzy at Mahlodumela Lower Primary school, with the arrival of 2 pickup loads and a trailer full of boxes containing books for the 26th Mandela Day Container library.

In the small village of Chebeng in Limpopo province, the principal – Mrs Mailula, along with a teacher – Mr Mogaswa, welcomed all the guests, the parents and community members to the small school.
Minette Mokoena, a grade 4 learner set the pace by reading with great enthusiasm, from a book.

This was followed by a brief speech from Mrs Mazeeda Hassim, a representative of Bariq Al Amal, who have sponsored the library. The group of women ran various fund raising activities for the library container, this included publishing and selling 1000 copies of a recipe book, to running a book drive for the library. Mrs Hassim spoke of how honoured she was to be involved in launching the 1st library in Chebeng. She encouraged the learners to use the library for what it was meant for.

Mr Ebrahim Moosa from Channel Islam International spoke eloquently about the imprisonment of Mr Nelson Mandela and how he and many other prisoners ‘freed’ their minds from the iron bars through books. He made parallel comparisons by stating that by not reading and expanding our minds and our world, we were in essence also imprisoning ourselves. This is the second Mandela Day Container library that Channel Islam is supporting.

Gone are the times when reading was just that. Whether in your mind, out loud, to yourself, to a sibling or to a crowd, whichever way, it was reading. We now live in an era of sms, mms, googling and game playing. Ms Puleng Phooko from Breadline Africa said that this makes the challenge of instilling the love of reading books even more challenging. She further went on to say that this is the very reason that we should be celebrating more events such as this library opening.

Ms Phooko also spoke on behalf of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, who were unable to make it due to flight cancellations. She said that the Mandela library project is inspired by Mr Mandela’s great love for reading and that the project can only be successful through joint efforts of the partners willing to make positive changes in the lives of our children.

Ten grade 3 learners then did a choral verse that went: make me clever, I need books, take me to the library, let me read….

Ms Margriet Lotz from the Limpopo library and information service donated a box of books (written in Pedi) to the school. She spoke about the relevance of World Book day which was celebrated on the 23 April. Her office will be supporting and facilitating the school library with the book sorting and the arrangement of the books in the library.

Following a vote of thanks given by the SGB chairlady, Mrs Mapodu Phoshoko, the handover of the keys and the cutting of the ribbon took place.

This was followed by singing by the school learners and grade 11 female youth from the Northern Muslim School.

Written by: Ms Puleng Phooko

Gilonki Secondary School – Library Opening – 23 April 2013, Eqakwini, Kwazulu Natal

Cans4Reading | admin | April 25, 2013

Tuesday I was present at the opening of a new Breadline Africa container library at Gilonki High School in KwaZulu-Natal. The school was started in 1998 as an Agricultural school. The Eqakwini chief donated the school grounds. The school is named after the father of the chief – Gilonki.

At the time the school had only 3 classrooms and 3 teachers. It now has 454 learners with 13 teachers. Grades start from 8-12.

Lessons at the school range from life science, computer application, accounting, business studies, mathematic literacy, 2 languages, physical science, and agricultural science.

The entire school was involved in the Opening and the school day was practically set aside for the opening. Proceedings started at 11h30 with a tour of the small school. By 15h30, festivities were ongoing, and refreshments were still to be served.

The school has 15 library monitors and their role thus far has been to manage the book lending system in the classrooms. Their role will probably differ now that there is a library. Both Biblionef and UKS have donated books to the school. The department of Education Library Services donated gold badges/plaques for the library monitors and these were given to each of them.

UKS, a local NGO, had brought boxes packed with backpacks for each learners, all the way from Johannesburg.

It was fitting that the library was opened on World Book Day –this was emphasized by Ms Mshengu from head office, department of education, and she encouraged learners to make good use of the library.

The principal expressed his appreciation for the library on numerous occasions. The Circuit Manager then gave a vote of thanks. He closed off with the words: “the most important thing that one can give anyone is knowledge. Education is for everyone – no-one can take that away from you. Thank you to all the sponsors for the most powerful gift”.

And of course the occasion would not have been fulfilled without music and dancing and ululations …and there was lot of that. The chorus of one of the songs went… woza yelo melo, woza yelo melo, referring to the library .

The school has an active school governing board. The school is a no-fee school, but receives a small administrative stipend from the Department of Education. Water is scarce at the school to facilitate a gardening project. There is a tap that has had no water for 2 years. There is a borehole, which is running dry. The school relies heavily on support from individuals, companies, and NGOs such as Star for Life.

Written by: Puleng Phooko our Programmes Manager

PRESS RELEASE: World Book Day – “Readers become leaders”

Press Release | admin | April 24, 2013

22 April, 2013 – Marking the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare, World Book Day is celebrated annually all over the world on 23 April. To highlight the day and raise awareness around the lack of access to books in impoverished areas in South Africa, NGO Breadline Africa will open a container library at Gilonki Secondary School, situated in Eqakwini Reserve, a rural community on the outskirts of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

“Reading is critical,” project manager for Breadline Africa, Puleng Phooko said. “The Gilonki secondary learners are all working towards writing their matric examinations in the not so distant future, however working towards achieving this goal is difficult when there is no access to extra reading material that supports teaching or learning at the school.”

Running on limited resources, Gilonki Secondary School took the initiative to set up a reading club to promote reading and literacy, with library monitors in a temporary structure on the school grounds. “The container library is the first solid structure set up in recognition of the hard work they put into promoting reading and literacy in their school”, Phooko said.

Breadline Africa has provided over 180 containers to poverty stricken communities since their establishment in 1993. The NGO specialises in renovating disused shipping containers and recycling them for essential community purposes. Breadline Africa, were recently awarded the Community Organisation Award for their work in townships and deprived rural areas throughout South Africa, at the South African Achiever’s Awards, which were held in London on 17 April.

“We buy sturdy, water-tight containers at a low cost and transform them into mobile structures. Our projects try to establish a level of self-sustainability within the community,” Phooko said. Each library costs on average R160 000 to refurbish.

Despite the challenges of accessing books, publishing agencies and companies have come through to help with the book collection, sorting and distribution. Biblionef were able to provide some support for the Gilonki container opening, however more books are needed to ensure that the library is fully stocked.

“The success of the initiative relies entirely on the support of parents, community members and corporates. We encourage everyone to get involved and help in some way,” Phooko said. “In the words of Tata Mandela ‘readers become leaders’ – this is the very ethos of container initiatives such as this one.”

For more information and to get involved in container initiatives email programmes@breadlineafrica.org.za or call 021 418 0322.

ENDS

Breadline Africa and Engen Petroleum Ltd, Cape Town joins hands

Donations, Uncategorized | admin | April 22, 2013

We would like to thank the staff of Engen Petroleum Ltd, Cape Town for having joined hands with us in our quest to help equip learners with the necessary school stationery for the New Year.

Breadline Africa was interviewed by CapeTalk a local radio station in Cape Town last year when some of Engen’s staff members heard about our stationery drive on the radio. The staff of Engen Petroleum together with their CSI department felt that they could join hands with our stationery drive as they also have a ‘Back to School Campaign’.

It was felt that every child has a basic right to education and that we could step out and arrange school stationery to help them get started. With this in mind we visited a local school on the Cape Flats.

Easter Peak Primary School was the recipient of these school bags. The school is situated in Manenberg, a severely disadvantaged township on the Cape Flats. The dedicated staff at Easter Peak, aware that education can lift their learners out of the cycle of poverty, is using all available resources to ensure that their learners receive the best education possible.

http://www.khanya.co.za/schools/khanyaschool.php?emisno=0105480282

The Principal and staff were overjoyed when we brought 250 bags filled with the necessary stationery which will in some way help the learners with their projects.

In an accompanying thank you letter the Principal wrote ‘It is with hearts filled with gratitude that we wish to thank you for this most generous donation our learners received. Most of our learners come from disadvantaged families and with your donation of stationery you have put a smile on many a needy face.”

If you would like to support our cause in helping learners with school stationery you can make a donation on-line by clicking here.

Written by Edna Titus

PRESS RELEASE: Breadline Africa wins prestigious South Africa Achiever’s Award

Press Release | admin | April 15, 2013

15 April – Cape Town based NGO, Breadline Africa snapped up the Community Organisation Award at the South African Achiever’s Awards, which were held in London over the weekend. Organised in conjunction with the South African Chamber of Commerce, the prestigious black tie event was attended by many of South Africa’s top businessmen and women, community leaders, musicians, celebrities and artists including the High Commissioner of South Africa, Dr Zola Skweyiya, John Battersby of Brand South Africa, comedian Loyiso Gola and actors Eliot Ngubane and Pamela Nomphumelelo Nomvete.

“The award is a huge honour and a wonderful endorsement for our work in providing the next generation of South Africans with the educational tools they need to take command of their own destiny,” Chairperson for Breadline Africa, Louise Seligman said.

The sold out awards ceremony, which was held at the Cumberland Hotel in central London on Saturday evening paid tribute to the South African diaspora of movers and shakers. Other award categories included; Outstanding Achievement in Business, Corporate Achievement Award, South African Restaurant of the Year Award, Community Champion Award and the Personality of the Year Award, to name a few.

Breadline Africa, who were acknowledged for their work in townships and deprived rural areas throughout South Africa, specialise in renovating disused shipping containers and recycling them for essential community purposes. The NGO has provided over 180 containers to poverty stricken communities since their establishment in 1993. For the past three years they have worked with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory to place container libraries in each of the nine provinces. The partnership forms part of the annual Mandela Day celebrations. As a result of the initiative, 25 container libraries have been placed and more than 18 000 children have been reached.

“Our projects try to establish a level of self-sustainability within communities,” Director of Breadline Africa, Tim Smith said. “The success of the Nelson Mandela container library initiative relies entirely on the support of the general public and corporates. We encourage everyone to get involved and help in some way. This award can only help to create further awareness around the work that we are doing, we are very grateful for the acknowledgement.”

For more information on Breadline Africa visit www.breadlineafrica.org.

Opening of the 25th Mandela Day Library – Bergville, KZN

Cans4Reading, Uncategorized | admin | April 12, 2013

Not even the persistent rain that fell all day could dampen the spirits of the children at the Oppermans Kraal primary School near Bergville in KawZulu-Natal yesterday where the 25th Mandela Day container library was opened. Inspired by the presence of Sibusiso Vilane, the first African to reach the summit of Everest (twice) and TV star Hlubi Moya of Isidingo, the children responded warmly to this new gift which will change their lives and open new doors for them into the future.

The new library was a result of the work of Robert Coutts in his Participate for Good Campaign.

Participate for good is a sports program aimed at getting people who participate in various activities to generate funds for the 46664 Bangle Mandela Day Library campaign. In this case the sports event was the Joberg2C race which involves a nine-day, 900 kilometre cycle race from Johannesburg to Durban, and which passes in the vicinity of this library. Some of the participants in the race were present, as was the owner of the farm and officials from the Education department and other local schools. The container itself was donated by a Danish donor and was decked out in the colours of the Danish flag.

The Opening ceremony which was held in a marquee erected on the school property was begun by the school principal, Mrs. Patience Mdakane. She was followed by Robert Coutts who introduced the 46664 Bangle campaign and announced that the donor had bought a bangle for each child in the school which would be handed out afterwards.

Then Sibusiso Vilane spoke, explaining how he had managed after an extremely deprived childhood to reach the summit of Everest and the highest peak on each of the seven continents, and how it was always possible to reach your dream if you had enough determination. After that Hlubi Moya roused the children by getting them to repeat after her “ I can reach my goals!” and “I can make the world my oyster!” Then both the guests handed the children a bangle, each one inscribed with Nelson Mandela’s prison number 46664 and an image of his hand.

This library is the first of several libraries promised through this campaign, the next one of which will be opened at the Umkomaas Valley school near Underberg, also in kwaZulu-Natal, on the 2nd May 2013.

PRESS RELEASE: 25th Mandela container library opened

Cans4Reading, Press Release | admin | April 9, 2013

10 April, Bergville, Kwa-Zulu Natal – A library container initiative between the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory and NGO Breadline Africa, celebrated the opening of their 25^thlibrary on Wednesday 10 April at Oppermanskraal Primary School outside Bergville in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Soapie star Hlubi Mboya and world-class adventurer and mountaineer, Sibusiso Vilane took part in the celebrations and handed out 46664 bangles to the learners. The area, which is remote and rural, recently received attention as a result of the Joberg2C mountain bike race across South Africa – a nine-day 900km riding adventure, which starts in Johannesburg and traverses through some of the most spectacular rural parts of Johannesburg down to Scottsborough on the Kwa-Zulu Natal coast.

The Bergville container library has been funded through the 46664 Bangles Programme, which received a boost from the Participate for Good Initiative, which has its roots in raising funds from people who enter into various sporting events and adventures. The inaugural event for the launch of the Participate for Good initiative is the Old Mutual Joberg2C mountain bike race.

“Entrants to the race simply register as a charity champion on the website; www.participateforgood.com select the target they are aiming for and then start collecting as much as they can, while having fun. Sixteen participants for this year’s race have already collected over R420 000. Hopefully we will reach the required R560 000 before the race starts, for a further two libraries to be funded,” Robert Coutts, a rider since the inception of the race and CEO of the 46664 Bangles Programme said.

“The commitment from the local communities to look after the libraries and to make sure we place them where they are most effective will ensure we make a significant impact in the lives of children well into the future,” director of the Old Mutual Joberg2C race, Craig Wapnick said. “Our Partnership with 46664 Bangles and the Participate for Good campaign is in line with how we hope to get local communities uplifted. If you look at the impact this one mountain bike race has had for these communities, you soon get to realise its potential.”

The library is the 25^thcontainer to be delivered as part of the partnership between the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Cape Town based NGO Breadline Africa. Each container library is restored from an old shipping container with insulation, flooring, window, doors and lighting to accommodate more than 3 000 books. The Rotary Foundation is the primary source of books in the Participate for Good container campaign and a welcome partner.

“The libraries give an opportunity to children, many of whom hardly ever see a reading book, to come into contact with picture and story books and to enter the wonderful world of reading for the first time,” Tim Smith, Director of Breadline Africa said. “Through the generosity of companies and donors, we’ve reached approximately 18 000 children in nine provinces.”

For more information on how to get involved or donate visit www.participaterforgood.com or www.joberg2c.co.za. 46664 Bangles www.46664.com/bangles and Mandela Day www.mandeladay.com are an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. For more information contact info@46664bangles.com or 0860 946664.

ENDS

THREE YEARS SINCE THE ARRIVAL OF THE BBC CONTAINER IN SOUTH AFRICA

Cans4Feeding | admin | April 3, 2013

Last week on Wednesday the BBC container celebrated its third anniversary in its new life as a soup kitchen on the Cape Flats outside Cape Town in South Africa. The BBC container, after travelling around the world, came to rest finally in the township of Kleinvlei on the 25th March 2010, where it has stood ever since, serving the poor people of this area.

The Children’s World Soup Kitchen was started in 2008 to address the needs of the poor and previously disadvantaged parents who need to work but without secure care for their children in the community.

The project celebrated the three years by doing what they do best. The volunteers cooked nutritious and delicious pots of food and served everyone a hearty plate of food. During the year irrespective of the season,s the hungry, the poor and the downtrodden know that this is the place where they will get a plate of food. For man,y especially the children, it might be the only plate of food for the day.

The services of the soup kitchen have expanded since they received this magnificent BBC Box as a donation three years ago. They are now operating three days a week and serving more than 700 children and adults. This area has been identified as one of the poorest and most vulnerable areas in the Western Cape.

The BBC Box was a 12 metre container that was tracked by the BBC news around the world for a period of twelve months, as a project to study international trade and globalization. Jeremy Hillman, the BBC News Editor at the time said “that the project was finally going to have long term charitable benefit. The BBC container’s new permanent home on dry land where it is destined to help some of those people worst affected by the global recession – is a fitting end to our project.”

The BBC Box surely had a fitting and long lasting ending. The Children’s World Kitchen project benefited enormously when they received this container. It is three years since this converted container was officially opened and began serving the need of the community. It was felt a good time for the project to celebrate its success and give thanks to the Principal of RR Franks Primary School and the staff who have so generously allow the project to operate from their premises. We would also like to thank all the sponsors and supporters such as the BBC News, Breadline Africa and all the locals for their on-going support. Last but not least it brought back good memories and thanks to the then Lady Mayoress Claire Anstee of London who officially opened the Container Kitchen.

Breadline Africa Readathon for National Library week

Cans4Reading | admin | March 27, 2013

Libraries have always played a role in education, be it a school, academic, public or special library. South African Library Week is celebrated nationally and by libraries across the country each year. National Library Week falls within the week of 20 March, as this day in 1818 saw the establishment of the first South Africa Public Library. Another reason for choosing this particular week is because Human Rights Day falls on 21 March – and we celebrate the freedom of access to information as a basic human right. We are therefore able to link an important historical event with a crucial date in our new democracy. Libraries across the country hosted special programmes during this week to highlight the services and resources available in their facilities and the importance of reading.

: Melanie Scholtz

: Blaq Pearl

: Sakhile Moleshe

: Razzano Davids

: Mitchell Heights Primary learners

: Mitchell Heights Primary learners and teacher

Breadline Africa converted an disused shipping container into a renovated container library sponsored by Tata Steel Limited Company for Mitchell Heights Primary school in Mitchell’s Plain. The container library gives children the opportunity, many of whom hardly ever see a reading book, to come into contact with picture and story books and for them to enter the wonderful world of reading for the first time. Breadline Africa hosted a Readathon at this school, which saw artist, teachers and 614 learners take part. Local musicians who read to the children included, award winning artist Melanie Scholtz (won best jazz vocalist prize at Old Mutual Jazz Encounters competition) together with Sakhile Moleshe (lead vocalist for Soul Housing Project) and hip hop artists Blaq Pearl (gifted singer/poet/writer/social activist and youth development worker) and Rozano Davids (internationally know underground hip hop deejay/activist/journalist/business man) showing their support for National Library Week, click here (U-tube Video). The Readathon’s aim was to inspire and challenge learners at schools to read and succeed – the artists participating in the event gave their time by taking part in a storytelling session with grade R – 3 learners – they also surprised the children with a collaborative performance as part of this year’s theme – Educate Yourself @ Your Library”