First published in the ReadRight educational supplement of the Sunday Times. Commissioned and published in book form by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa in 2009
Children have a great deal to say and a great deal to offer. In a series of workshops that were designed to give them a voice, stories from all over the country were collected. The schools were mostly rural schools, with some township schools added to the mix. Every province was represented and schools working with handicapped children were included. It was an exciting project. The stories were published in newspaper form a second time as part of a support programme to regain lost ground after a teacher’s strike – 10.2 million stories were distributed free to schools in cut-out book format.
The subsequent book My Story, Our Stories, was published by Parliament in 2009 and distributed, also free, to the participating schools and others.
We use this book at almost every workshop and book event – there is always something appropriate to the topic – and children are fascinated to listen to the voices of other children in their own country, their own world. The stories are also a good length for reading during short workshops.
CBN would like to see this book back in print. Anyone interested in helping with this project should contact: info@childrensbook.co.za
