By Bongekile Gumede
The ‘My Book, My Friend’ book club based in Newlands is currently hosting a workshop called ‘Five Days of Awesome Fun With Books’ which started on Monday, 4 July.
Founder, Zandile Mtambo, said the workshop is the first of its kind in the community of Newlands and aims to bring children from the community together while encouraging them to read more and become close friends with books which will assist them with reading and writing and in turn aid their school work.
Mtambo said that the book club has partnered with other community organisations for the workshop such as the Ward 37 Sports Committee, Troops Organisations, the Castlehill Primary School Governing Body and the Big Sister Foundation who have contributed a lot to the workshop’s success.
She said that the first day of the workshop focused on literature and children from the community and book club members gathered to discuss the importance of reading and literature. The children also made creative posters with messages relaying the importance of reading.
“We were also graced with a visit from Department of Health officials who were here to teach the children about the importance of cleanliness and how to wash their hands properly and thoroughly. The children also made posters on hygiene and hand-washing which they really enjoyed,” said Mtambo.
She said that the second day of the workshop focused on poetry and the children were tasked to write their own poems which is also part of the school curriculum. On Wednesday, 6 July, the workshop focused on traditional literature, which is the kind of literature that has no known author and tells stories that have been handed down orally from one generation to the next, with each storyteller adding slight variations, which a lot of kids really enjoy according to Mtambo.
On Thursday, 7 July, the workshop will focus on drama and on Friday, the children will have a sports day to end the workshop with a fun and interactive activity. Mtambo said that more workshops will be conducted in the course of the year and she would like to thank all the sponsors and supporters who have made the workshop a success.
