NPO READ to RISE celebrates 10 years of inspiring children to read

On 18 September 2023 READ to RISE will celebrate its 10th birthday by giving 10,000 new story books – 200 new story books to 50 primary schools in Mitchells Plain and surrounds.

According to the latest PIRLS survey, 81% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa are functionally illiterate.

READ to RISE, founded in 2013, is a non-profit organisation that promotes youth literacy in under-resourced communities in South Africa. “We hope to inspire children to read so that they can ‘rise’ above their circumstances.” says Co-Founder Athol Williams. To date, the organisation has conducted over 6,800 class programmes, placed 372 mini-libraries in classrooms and given out a total of over 300,000 new story books to children around South Africa – over 127,000 children have benefited.

READ to RISE has worked with Grade 2 and 3 learners at all 47 primary schools in Mitchells Plain over the last 10 years and does the OAKY Puppet Show at public libraries during school holidays to get children excited about reading. This year, thanks to the partnership with Origin Learning Fund, READ to RISE launched its pilot READ to RISE app for 1,000 children to help with reading and comprehension and digital skills.

Last year, READ to RISE received the award for Substantial Contribution to the Development and Advancement of Reading and Literacy by the Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sports. “We’re happy to be able to help the children especially in communities like Mitchells Plain where the learners and schools face so many challenges.” says Programme Manager, Roscoe Williams.

Over the last 10 years, READ to RISE has partnered with various sponsors to visit schools in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, North-West Province and KZN.

‘Today we celebrate 10 years of inspiring children to read! We thank all our sponsors, partners, staff, volunteers and supporters and look forward to many more years of getting children excited about reading.” says Taryn Lock, READ to RISE Co-Founder and Executive Director.

READ to RISE will also be hosting the third Cape Flats Book Festival on 4-5 November 2023 at West End Primary School in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain. There is an amazing line up of authors this year including Patric Tariq Mellet, Sarah Isaacs, Mia Arderne, Chantal Stewart, CA Davids, Karen Theunissen, Baydu Adams, Yusuf Daniels, to name a few. There will be workshops, storytelling, a puppet show, booksellers, food stalls and prizes up for grabs. This annual book festival is great for both adults and children and is free to the public.

READ to RISE relies on sponsorships from individuals, corporates and trusts to conduct its class programmes. For only R50 per learner, he/she will benefit from the READ to RISE Class Programme and also receive a new story book to take home. Donate here.

For more information or if you would like to assist READ to RISE in promoting youth literacy, please visit www.readtorise.co.za or email info@readtorise.co.za

NGOs partner to get children in Cape Flats reading with online programme

Literacy non-profit organisation, READ to RISE, has partnered with Origin Learning Fund to provide 1,000 children at 5 primary schools in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, with access to the READ to RISE Online Programme.

In South Africa, sadly 78% of grade 4 learners are functionally illiterate. Through the Read to Rise Online Programme, children will improve their digital literacy skills, reading, pronunciation and comprehension skills. This pilot project has been launched at West End Primary School, Littlewood Primary School, Yellowwood Primary School, AZ Berman Primary School and Jamaica Way Primary School where 1,000 children will benefit.

The READ to RISE Online Programme gives children access to the books in the OAKY series (written by award-winning South African poet Athol Williams) and has multiple choice comprehension questions for each book. There is audio for the books which can help children with pronunciation. The READ to RISE Online Programme can be accessed via desktop, tablet or mobile phone. Once the app is downloaded onto mobile phones or tablets, no internet is needed to use the READ to RISE Online Programme.

READ to RISE is a non-profit organisation that promotes youth literacy in under-resourced communities in South Africa. The organisation hopes to inspire children to read through its classroom programmes and also giving each learner access to books. READ to RISE currently offers programmes for Grade 2 and 3 classes and works with all 47 primary schools in Mitchells Plain. To date, the organisation has visited over 6,300 classes to conduct their programme and given out over 286,000 new books.

“In today’s world digital literacy is vital, so we are delighted to partner with Origin Learning Fund to be able to give 1,000 children in Mitchells Plain access to the READ to RISE Online Programme.” says READ to RISE Executive Director, Taryn Lock.

The Origin Learning Fund is a US and Colombian non-profit organisation that focuses on promoting innovative solutions to education challenges and leveraging technology to enhance education outcomes. Their mission is to support educational and leadership development programs for teachers and youth in vulnerable communities. They do that through their own-developed technology, O-lab app. A fully customizable and inclusive web/mobile platform that works also offline and on low-cost devices, adapting to any content, community and language worldwide, indigenous tongues included.

"It is amazing to see how in a short time O-lab has become scalable and effective from Colombia to South Africa, as well as in other countries around the world. READ to RISE is doing an incredible job identifying reading as a key building block for shaping a generation of inspiring new leaders, and we are happy that we can contribute to this by making their programmes digitally inclusive. Read To Rise is the ideal partner for using O-lab and we aspire to multiply these kinds of alliances in Africa as well as the rest of the world", says Tania Rosas, Founder and CEO of Origin Learning Fund.

Origin Learning Fund has partnered with Read to Rise in 2023 with this pilot project and provided 1,000 licences for children in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, South Africa to access the READ to RISE Online Programme.

READ to RISE relies on funding from individuals, trusts and corporates and hopes to continue inspiring children to read. If you are able to assist with sponsorship, please visit www.readtorise.org or email info@readtorise.co.za

Creating excitement about reading at libraries

Literacy non-profit organisation, READ to RISE, hosted five full day programmes at five public libraries – Tafelsig Public Library, Rocklands Public Library, Lentegeur Public Library, Westridge Public Library and Town Centre Public Library - in Mitchells Plain during the December/January school holidays.

131 children benefitted from the READ to RISE Holiday Programme. Each child received 4 new story books, 3 activity books, a pencil and lunch. Children got to see the OAKY Puppet Show, learn about the stories from the OAKY series and also work on activities with READ to RISE facilitators. A total of 524 story books and 393 activity books were given out.

The project was funded by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sports.

READ to RISE is a non-profit organisation that promotes youth literacy in under-resourced communities such as Mitchells Plain. They hope to inspire children to read with a fun, interactive classroom programme and also giving each learner a new book to take home. In communities like Mitchells Plain, many children have never owned a book before. “Book ownership can ignite a love for reading” says READ to RISE Programme Manager, Roscoe Williams.

READ to RISE currently offers programmes for Grade 2 and 3 classes and works with all 47 primary schools in Mitchells Plain. To date, the organisation have visited over 6,300 classes to conduct their programme and given out over 286,000 new books. The books which are used in the programme are the Oaky Series which are inspirational stories written by award-winning poet Athol Williams who grew up in Mitchells Plain. Children need to read in order to ‘rise’ despite their circumstances. In Mitchells Plain, children face many challenges including gangs and drugs. “We believe that children who read, will excel at school and go on to become constructive citizens.” says Williams.

READ to RISE relies on sponsorships from individuals, trusts and corporates in order to conduct their programmes in schools and libraries.

The SALI Trust has recently partnered with READ to RISE to conduct the OAKY Puppet Show at 25 public libraries in Cape Town in 2023. 225 books from the OAKY Series will be given to these libraries so that children can borrow the books to read. ‘We are grateful to sponsors like The SALI Trust so that READ to RISE can get more children excited about reading and libraries.’ say Williams.

For more info, please email info@readtorise.co.za