The beginning of January is not the beginning of CBN’s year. The beginning of March is when we start to implement the ideas that have simmered and baked during the previous year. The ideas that are freshly cooked and ready to serve.
Our Annual report is exceptionally early this year, because it was necessary to look back and learn from a year that posed some seemingly unanswerable questions. How can we continue to reach children and bring them books during a time of global emergency, and how can we do this without the friendship and fellowship of workshops?
Perhaps the first answer is to continue to give as much passion and excitement to our projects as we have always done. The second answer it to adapt, to use our tested methods and ideas and to change to fit with new circumstances.
Distance reading is new to us. The joy of reading a story or telling a story and seeing the spark of understanding and laughter in a child is temporarily unavailable. But it will be back. In the meantime, we have tested ways of still bringing books to children and children to books and this is what we will do in this new financial year of 2021.
Distributing reading and activity packs as we did in 2020
https://www.childrensbook.co.za/home-reading-ideas
Reinforcing methods of communicating, entertaining and teaching children while keeping them safe and observing the rules. This will include training for additional community facilitators to follow the trail blazed by Vuyokasi Losa in De Kop informal settlement and others we have worked with in other places.
Increasing the reach and extent of our thriving book club so as to offer books to more and more children in different areas of Stanford.
Adapting to use the audio-visual equipment we have kindly been donated by the individual members of the Stanford community. We have also been given DVDs and CDs of children’s books and stories and educational material like National Geographic films. When it is safe to do so, we can use these in conjunction with the books that are our core business. (This will also include a vigorous music education programme.)
Making our materials and methods available to organizations throughout the region and eventually the nation.
So that’s the plan for our new year of 2021. We will need some help!
To be involved, please go to:
https://www.childrensbook.co.za/network/get-involved
