SIYAFUNDA

Siyafunda Donate a Book recently donated 5 Trolley Libraries to five schools in Ghana, Bogoso Region, these include more than 5000 children’s books, courtesy of AECI Ghana Ltd who saw our crazy innovation of “Umgqom’wolwazi, the bin of knowledge” on social media and approached us, to support ten schools last year in South Africa. We donated ten trolley libraries and more than 10 000 children’s books. It was a massive operation.

At Siyafunda Donate-A-Book we believe that the right environment guarantees growth, and we also believe strongly in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children (United Nations, 1989) and the world declarations on Early Childhood Education for all UNESCO 1990, and the Africa Charter on the rights and Welfare of the child (Organisation of Africa Unity (OAU 1990), which recognise the right of children to education, and the development of personality, talents, mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. These charters clearly stipulates that every child has a right to Basic Early Childhood Development Education, Basic Education including Adult Basic
Education and to further their education with the State. Without the best start in life for all children, there is no foundation for sustainable societies. We believe that children have the right beyond survival to thrive and contribute to sustainable communities. For many years rural children have been forgotten in terms of opportunities and resources to get quality education and that is what
drives our mission to leave no rural child behind. The aim of this request is to take the whole African continent into its confidence regarding what is arguably the most important sector in early childhood development and basic education. The Siyafunda team has made remarkable progress in this regard, and we acknowledge that much more needs to be done. As an organisation we do not have all the solutions, but we are sure that through our relentless efforts we will spark the minds that will come up with the solutions.

BACKGROUND: WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR

Some of the key takeaways from our past 5 years as an organisation is we have ensured that more learners in poor and rural schools have access to books and libraries compared to 2012. We have worked in 9 Provinces, 57 rural schools, reached 55 480 children, donated more than 820 140 children’s books to the value of R5 269 462. Learners who now have access to libraries has increased
significantly from 45% in 2011 to 65% in 2018 (School Monitoring Survey 2017/18 BDE) which is a direct result of a relentless focus of ‘Siyafunda Donate-A-Book’ in ensuring that no rural child is left behind.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR CORPORATES: WHY PARTNERING WITH SIYAFUNDA?

• We are inspired by AECI Limited South Africa and its efforts to uplift the community through
  introducing reading for leisure and encouraging healthy lifestyle in the ten schools that we
  are busy working with right now.
• It is also part of our goal to see more schools in West African communities gain access to
  books and computers so that the learners can learn the culture of reading at an early age
  which is an essential skill for learners to thrive in the world we live in.
• There are numerous marketing, branding and PR opportunities.
• Participation in an innovative public-private-partnership programme which
  emancipates children from underprivileged backgrounds across the continent.
• Investing in a programme that has real and tangible case studies and direct social
  impact.
• Direct access to meet and interact with the beneficiaries regularly.
• Leaving a legacy in the schools and communities involved.
• Regular staff participation through volunteering during book distributions.
• Donate a Book addresses needs in education, health, gender equality and women
  empowerment in line with some of the main Corporate Social Investment focus
  areas of many companies.
• The programme will help your company activities turn the CSI obligation into an
  opportunity.

At Siyafunda Donate-A-Book, we are strong believers in collaboration, simply because collaboration
is the new form of innovation, and therefore we cannot change the narrative of Africa alone, so we
humbly request that through these tough times let’s join hands and work together to restore dignity
within our communities. It would be an honour to partner with different stakeholders to establish
more Libraries across all rural communities, starting with the five schools now.