The Good Hope Library

Our African Library Project in conjunction with School Aid


THE GOOD HOPE LIBRARY

'Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world'.  
Nelson Mandela.

The library is in use and the librarians are busy capturing the books into the software system - this takes such a long time if you consider each book to take 5 minutes to capture, stick on bar codes, date pages and print and stick on spine labels.

1500 books are already in circulation in the school as each class was given a box of books suitable for their age group. Also the reading schemes were all sorted and handed to the appropriate classes. The teachers are already going to the library asking for easy readers for the poorer learners.
On Tuesday 17th March 2015 the Nancefield Librarians decided that they were ready for a formal opening of their library. They invited School Aid and the School Management Team along with 3 Grade R (Reception) classes to come along. Each class sang a little song or poem - so cute! Julie Rabany, who has been helping the 2 librarians to organise the library told the children how special they were and how much they were going to enjoy using the books in the library. We read them a book about going to school. At the end they each were given a balloon, a sweet and some juice.
By Wednesday the school's library co-ordinator was already handing the librarians a list of topics that they would be teaching next term so that they could prepare books for them. The two librarians are really trained now and it is lovely to see them discussing shelving of the books, they have learnt so much. They are discussing how they could go to other schools and help them with their libraries.
A big thank you from Nancefield to to Wendover Rotary. 
Scroll down for a history of this groundbreaking joint project between Wendover Rotary and School Aid.

In 2013, working with the charity School-Aid, Rotary Club of Wendover and District agreed to provide a library for a school in South Africa by the spring of 2014. The supervising charity at this end is School-Aid, based in Beaconsfield, which saw to the shipping of the books. They have a sister organisation - School Aid South Africa - who supervised the construction, fitting out and training of the librarians.
We were given 130 boxes of slightly imperfect books, retail value 15,600 pounds Sterling by Usborne Publishing, and Maltman's Green School in Gerrards Cross and later Buckingham Park School also donated new books. These were all collected and stored locally by School Aid and Dells Storage and then shipped out to South Africa in mid-May 2014.
Originally the library was to be housed in either a used shipping container or a Portakabin but, thanks to the generosity of all our donors who included the Chiltern Zone of Rotary District 1260, sufficient funds were raised to allow the building of a permanent structure made of Stumblebloc - a modern, environmentally friendly and easy to use construction material. This will help keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. Foundations were dug and construction started in late May 2014. The work on the progressed very quickly and the building was completed by end of June 2014. After much deliberation it was decided to name the library THE GOOD HOPE LIBRARY.

On Mandela Day, 18th July 2014, the team volunteered rather more than their 67 minutes for Mandela Day at Nancefield Primary School to get our Good Hope Library ready for next term.  They transported 50 boxes of books, sorted and stacked 31 large  plastic boxes the books onto the shelves (1800 books) and catalogued them for each individual class. 

Patti Scales [centre above] paid a visit to School-Aid on 8th July 2014 on her way back to Johannesburg, where she has been overseeing the building and stocking of the library at Nancefield School. Asst Governor Cheryl Law presented her with a banner from Wendover Rotary, and Past President Sandra Maizels inducted her as an honorary member. Clare Junak, general manager, (far right) was also presented with a banner for her co-ordination of the project at School-Aid. Janis Mowlem, chairman of School-Aid (R) was also present.

THE SCHOOL
Nancefield Primary School, Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, with 1120 children on roll. The children are the poorest of the poor, coming to school dirty and unfed, many not in uniform which is unusual,  and the school has a liberal approach to the fees which ought to be paid, often waiving them altogether. Every child in the school is either single or double orphan.
For seven years they had no head teacher, and it was not until the parents staged a sit-in in the education office demanding more classrooms that they got their wish, and a head teacher who is making a lot of difference. The staff and parents manage to provide one meal a day, and are constantly fundraising as best they can. The volunteers from School-Aid South Africa are in and out of the school all the time and will keep an eye on the library, which has two adults ready to be trained as librarians. This is an invaluable resource for a school most of whose pupils have never had the luxury of owning a book.

 The picture shows School Aid UK and school staff with the children and the dictionaries. The school is thrilled with the donation and thanks the Club very much. Mr Du Preez, Head of English assures that they will be well used and the school has now started building library periods into the timetable, something they were never able to do before.

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