Nal’ibali: Bringing home the power of stories to South African Families

Nal’ibali (isiXhosa for ‘Here is the story) is a national reading-for-enjoyment campaign that is bringing the power of reading and stories, in African languages as well as English, into the homes of SA families. Read more to find out what’s in store for Nal’ibali in 2015 and how you can get involved.

Building on success: A bit of background

Stories are the fabric of life. They are the tools we use to make sense of our lives, share our experiences with others, and learn and grow as individuals and communities. Stories provide a safe space for children and adults to explore both new, and familiar territories together, and, for young children, they are the support they need to develop their early literacy and language skills.

Building on this knowledge, and the key understanding that it is from a place of enjoyment and personal relevance that real learning takes place; Nal’ibali was created by PRAESA (the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa) in 2012 as strategy to tackle the literacy crisis in SA.

Bringing you up to speed: Fast forward through a literacy journey

Aimed at getting all South Africans, young and old, passionate about reading and storytelling, a key strategy for Nal’ibali has been the set-up of informal reading-for-enjoyment clubs in communities across the country. To date, the campaign has established 345 clubs in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Western Cape provinces reaching approximately 10 000 children each week. Supervised and run by trained community literacy mentors, the clubs provide warm and relaxed environments for the children and parents who attend them, to read, engage with storytelling and other literacy activities, such as games and songs, in children’s home languages.

In addition, Nal’ibali reading clubs are supplied with the weekly bilingual Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment newspaper supplement, which features a new children’s story in every edition. The supplements also contain tips and literacy activity ideas for adults and are available in combinations of English-isiXhosa, English-isiZulu, English-Sesotho and English-Afrikaans.

Nal’ibali reading clubs have fast become an integral part of many children’s lives, and, it’s not only children who enjoy the fun and engaging atmosphere – many of their parents and teachers have reported a significant improvement in their children’s behavior and school marks too.

On the horizon: Taking it forward in 2015

So where to now? With research from the South African Book Development Council showing that around only 5 % of parents in South Africa are reading to their children, Nal’ibali is taking its message of story power from clubs and schools directly into homes.

“It’s crucial that we raise awareness of the vital link between reading for enjoyment and children’s educational success with parents and caregivers,’ comments Dr. David Harrison, CEO of the DG Murray Trust, partner and primary funder of the Nal’ibali campaign.

“Children always take what they know from home to school, and, when homes are rich in stories, and with lively and interesting connections with caregivers, there is much more for teachers to expand upon,” continues Harrison.

“A strong partnership between families and teachers is the ultimate recipe for giving children the best educational opportunity possible,” he concludes.

And, having launched a new communications drive titled ‘StoryPower. Bring it home’ at the end of 2014, with billboards nationwide, the conversation initiated by Nal’ibali in 2012 has already been accelerated.

2015 will see Nal’ibali continue this conversation in all its activities, including World Read Aloud Day this Wednesday March 4 where parents, caregivers and members of the public are invited to help break the campaign’s 2014 read aloud record. Last year, driven by Nal’ibali, close to 50 000 children across the country were read the same story on the same day by the caregivers in their lives. This year, Nal’ibali hopes to break that record, and a brand new story specially written by renowned local storyteller Gcina Mhlope has been commissioned and translated by the campaign. To help break the record, and read the story in your language, visit the Nal’ibali website for more details: www.nalibali.org.

For more information about the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment campaign, to access children’s stories in a range of SA languages, and tips on reading and writing with children visit www.nalibali.org, www.nalibali.mobi or find us on Facebook: nalibaliSA and Twitter: @nalibaliSA.