Stop by Kwabhekilanga Sports Ground in Alex’s Far East Bank on a weekend morning, and you’ll witness a remarkable site. Picture this: It’s 8 a.m, and three dozen kids have just finished an hour of running on the track. Now they’re scrambling eagerly up the stairs to a classroom for training of another kind. They’re here to participate in Read Alex, Run Alex’s project to nurture a love of words, language, and stories among kids in the township.
We started this initiative because we know that many of the kids in our juniors running program struggle to read, an ability that is fundamental to their academic and career success. They aren’t alone in that. More than 80% of grade 4 learners in South Africa have difficulties understanding what they read, and nearly half of children in this country don’t have any books at home. We want to make sure the kids of Run Alex have the reading and writing skills they need to achieve their dreams, whether that’s becoming a doctor, a novelist, or the next Caster Semenya.
Over time, however, Read Alex has grown into something bigger than a literacy project. Not every kid in our program is going to magically transform into a bookworm, but they are all brilliantly imaginative thinkers who are endlessly curious about the world around them. They are also dedicated. They show up for us – rain or shine, 0 degrees or 30 – with a hunger to learn, and so we are trying to show up for them with equal energy by providing a wide range of educational activities linked to literacy. One weekend might see our kids building rockets with an engineer, while the next, they’re getting writing tips from a published children’s book author. The goal is for them not to see reading as something to suffer through, but as an ability that can open doors to many kinds of exciting futures.
Read Alex has also put together a small library of about 250 books that our juniors can check out, from biographies of their favorite athletes to fantasy novels, and everything in between. Now we want to spread that access to books wider. That’s why on Saturday, 19 July, we’ll be hosting a Mandela Day “Read-a-Thon” for the entire Alex community. We will welcome kids ages 4 to 12 from around the township for a morning of reading, educational games, and art. Thanks to donations from a wide range of supporters, we’ll be giving each participant a new book to take home with them.
Donate a book
We would like each of our children to walk away with a book
We welcome a donation of high quality new or gently used children's books
We have also put together a list of book that you can buy for the children as part of your contribution
Books from the below list may be ordered on Exclusive Books, Amazon, Takealot
Books may also be dropped off at Kwabhekilanga Sports Grounds - Contact
More Info about the event:
Please Contact
On Event - Samukelisiwe Nhlabathi: +27 62 998 0153
Online Book Donations - Ryan Lenora Brown: +27 73 021 6396
Kwabhekilange Book Drop-Off - Anelisa Mzimasi: +27 78 491 0201
For more information about Run Alex, The Athletics Club, The Development or Read Alex please visit our website: www.runalex.co.za OR For any inquiries please send us an email at runalexac@gmail.com / info@runalex.co.za OR contact: +27 78 258 6054 (Mandisa Semane - Secretary General) +27 60 677 1173 | (Mokakatla Masekela - Chairperson)
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