King David High School Linksfield Grade 10 pupils’ concern about poor literacy levels in South Africa led them to help build up the library of Orange Grove Primary School.
The project was inspired by the school’s #ChesedIsAlwaysAWinWin programme, part of its Jewish Studies curriculum for Grade 10s.
In the programme, pupils are tasked with researching and participating in a chesed project in order to understand the running of chesed operations as well as appreciating what it means to give of themselves.
Erin Dworkin, Mika Sacharowitz, and Liora Shapiro were motivated by poor literacy levels, with reports that 81% of South African Grade 4 pupils are unable to read for meaning.
They approached Marion Bloch and Gillian Jankelowitz, who have established a library for the pupils of Orange Grove Primary School solely with the help of volunteers and through book donations. On 5 June, they paid a visit to the school, and donated books, games, and stationery that they had collected from fellow pupils, and presented a library lesson to a class of 43 Grade 2 children.
The excitement of the children as they listened to stories, completed worksheets, and coloured in pictures in the books which the girls had prepared for them was a rewarding experience. They then sang, danced, and played games, all with the aim of demonstrating the amazing world of words and the vistas that await a literate child.
The girls were humbled by their visit, and felt privileged to have been able to participate in this project.
