Nal'ibali celebrated as sole African honoree at the 2019 Library of Congress Literacy Awards

Nal’ibali, South Africa’s reading for enjoyment campaign, has been named best practice honorees at the 2019 Library of Congress Literacy Awards.

The NGO was one of just a handful of organisations from around the world (and the sole African recipient) to be honoured for its efforts to improve reading levels in South Africa.

Nal'ibali Managing Director Jade Jacobsohn says she is happy to share this award not only with her team, but also with "ordinary South African superheroes."

"This wonderful honour from the Library of Congress must be extended to our team, and our community of everyday, ordinary South African superheroes who drive the Nal’ibali movement. Our campaign gets its legs (and its heart!) from our network of FUNda Leaders who create opportunities every day for South African children to fall in love with books,” Jade said.

The award comes after high praise from the DG Murray Trust and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) who supported Nal’ibali in their quest to earn this award.

Dr. David Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of the DG Murray Trust reiterated his confidence in Nal’ibali’s vision of promoting literacy development through a culturally relevant, aspirational and effective campaign.

"Nal’ibali’s core aim is to spark and embed a culture of reading for enjoyment across South Africa, making reading, writing and sharing stories – in all South African languages – part of everyday life. The need in South Africa is dire. The 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) revealed that 8 out of 10 nine-year olds in the country are unable to read for meaning in any language," says Harrison.

To date, Nal’ibali has distributed over 30 million newspaper reading supplements, circulated almost 500 000 books, trained over 13 000 people to spark the joy of reading and reach millions of children through its World Read Aloud Day campaigns. 

We'd say the recognition is well-earned. 

For more information about the Nal’ibali campaign, or to access children’s stories in a range of South African languages, visit www.nalibali.org. You can also find Nal’ibali on Facebook and Twitter. 

Compiled for Parent24 by Lesley-Anne Johannes.

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