The CBN team works with children who are needy in all of these aspects of their lives, underprivileged in the lack of opportunity and resources to learn to love reading, disempowered in not having books available and role models who read.
We began at Red Hill Informal Settlement, where we gave our first pilot workshop – rapidly followed by a more formal event that included five Swedish volunteers who put their hearts and souls into giving the children of Red Hill, and later Luthando crèche in Stellenbosch, the very best of times. We will always go back there.
The first workshops were held in the container library at the settlement. It later became apparent that the children were less distracted (and got more out of the experience) if we brought them down by safe transport to the ever-helpful Simon’s Town Library that has hosted us for two years now in a most supportive fashion.
Because our Director (Lesley Beake) was living on and working with a project in Clanwilliam, we followed to work with the Cederberg children, where we gave over 20 workshops in the marvellously appropriate facilities of Clanwilliam Living Landscape Project, which was once a school.
Now we are looking at fresh opportunities in the Overstrand District and planning a series of workshops on a green theme.
But CBN is always open to suggestions and requests for assistance We are hoping to expand our ideas and spread the experience we have gained over the past three years to a wider audience of book people.
We can be contacted on: info@childrensbook.co.za
