Encouraging children in Mitchell’s Plain to read more than two books annually, as part of the Read to Rise campaign, earned Roscoe Williams an award from the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport.
The founder of the non-profit organisation (NPO) Read to Rise is committed to promoting youth literacy in schools in South Africa’s under-resourced communities.
He received his Cultural Affairs Award for Substantial Contribution and Advancement of Reading and Literacy (including IT literacy) on Wednesday 12 October.
The awards honour individuals and organisations that made a significant contribution to the sectors of arts and culture, language, libraries, archives, heritage and museums across the province.
“As the name Read to Rise indicates, we firmly believe that children need to read in order to rise in their personal development and contribution to society,” Williams said.
“Children who love reading excel at school and go on to become constructive members of society. It all starts with reading.”
Over the past two months, he was very busy with different projects in the Mitchell’s Plain community.
“To complement our reading project we hosted the annual Cape Flats Book Festival at West End Primary School at the beginning of September and more than 2 000 people attended the festival.
“There were 34 sessions with 42 speakers and over 30 exhibitors,” said Williams.
“Altogether 1 500 new books were given out to those who attended.”
He also partnered with One Sight, an independent NPO that brings eye care, glasses and eye exams to communities and handed glasses to adults and children over three days at Littlewood Primary in Eastridge.
“With the Read to Rise campaign, we aim to address the troubling reality that young children in our communities are not reading as much as they require for their educational development. Children in the foundational phase should be reading around 40 books per year. In our under-resourced communities, children are reading only one to two books a year and I am trying to help by providing books,” Williams says.
