Nal'ibali expands to Afrikaans, Sesotho to encourage children's reading

Along with the new languages, the distribution will also expand from four to five provinces, to include the Free State as part of the Sowetan newspaper's regional offering.

Establish a love for reading

"Exposing children to reading materials in their mother tongue is an essential tool to foster a love for reading from a young age," comments Patti McDonald, publisher of Times Media Education. "The company's advanced distribution channels will now give more children access to fun and interactive content specifically created to encourage literacy development in children."

The Nal'ibali national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, founded by PRAESA (the Project for Study of Alternative Education Studies in South Africa) with Times Media as a partner, has achieved its outcomes in promoting multi-lingual literacy development across South Africa.

The supplement, which appears weekly in select newspapers, aims to spark children's potential through storytelling and reading by providing literacy materials in five South African languages (English, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Afrikaans and isiZulu). It is delivered directly to 300 reading clubs, schools, libraries and literacy organisations that are part of its network of mentorship and support to inspire reading habits.

"The supplement is excited to be able to offer supplements in an additional two language combinations, Sesotho/English and Afrikaans/English. This is a really significant step, enabling many more adults and children to read together in languages they feel at home in and also marking our commitment to meeting the necessary challenge of growing reading in all of South Africa's languages," comments Carole Bloch, director of PRAESA.

Illustrative stories

The supplement contains stories to read aloud or to read alone, related reading activities, as well as information and tips for adults about participating or starting reading clubs and sharing the joy of books with children.

Illustrated by Rico Schacherl, of Madam and Eve fame, the supplement is a regular resource allowing families at home to enjoy interesting and fun story times with children. The new languages will also facilitate the growth of reading clubs in South Africa - a key literacy development strategy for the Nal'ibali campaign.

As from 6 August, the supplements will be available in the following newspapers:

• KwaZulu-Natal: The Sowetan (English and isiZulu) on Wednesdays
  
• Gauteng: The Sowetan (English and isiZulu) on Wednesdays
  
• Western Cape: The Times (English and isiXhosa) on Wednesdays
  
• Eastern Cape: The Herald and Daily Dispatch (English and isiXhosa) on Tuesdays and Thursdays
  
• Free State: The Sowetan (English and Sesotho) on Wednesdays

For more information, go to www.nalibali.org, follow on www.facebook.com/nalibaliSA or the Twitter feed: @nalibaliSA.