Nozincwadi was conceived as a tribute to reading and writing in South Africa and has travelled to the most remote areas of the country and promote reading and inspire future young writers.

The story of Nozincwadi is such that young and old people will be drawn in and the book packages given away during this ongoing “reading road show" have books for children, young adults as well as recently literate adult.

Aims and Objectives of Nozincwadi

• introduce and promote the pleasure of reading
• promote South African and African authors
• to encourage young people to start creating their own stories and their own books so they can have a say in the future of writing and reading in this country to distribute books within communities who otherwise will have no access to books

In today’s world, literacy and reading are keys that opens the doors to the global village. We say this is the age of computers, but sophisticated computers and all sorts of modern forms of media are useless to a country that does not invest in the literacy of its people.

This is why I, Gcina Mhlophe, am ready to dedicate my creativity and time to make a difference in the lives of rural people, particularly children whose situation might seem hopeless.

Reading Inspired Me

I’ve been there, that’s where I come from: Reading inspired me to think and dream BIG. I would like to share this experience with everybody who is feeling despondent with their personal situation right now. Changes are taking place all around us but they might seem very slow to some.

It is no good just sitting back and wiating for the government or some other beneficiary to make the changes happen, we all need to get involved, an a variety of ways,· as members of the community in any area we feel passionate about. Hard work, vision and READING will make the difference!

Great Leaders are Great Readers

As the Nozincwadi: Mother of Books Project, we have already traveled all over South Africa where we have visited at least 10 rural towns per province. When we arrive at a location, schools travel from a wide radius to come to the central points where we performe, share information and promotd the importance of literacy.

The aim of visiting schools and community centers is to read stories from books.· To tell the story of Nozincwadi and encourage parents to be involved in literacy and reading of their children. And also for parents who cannot read to be encouraged that we are never too old to learn.

Millions More Children Need to Benefit

The NOZINCWADI Project helps teachers and librarians set up library boxes, and where libraries already exist at school and community centres we bring new books. During the course of the project, every month new schools were targeted. The Project was conceived in 2001 and is still running. Financial constraints made it very hard. We stopped to raise funds several times, but we always got going again with renewed enthusiasm because the fire is still burning and we feel that millions more children still need to benefit.

Our partners and Nozincwadi say : “Aluta Continua! ” The struggle must continue!