Driving literacy through

Ethnikids has produced a new multilingual and multicultural folktale collection that encourages diversity, inclusion and literacy among South Africa’s children.

South Africa is experiencing a literacy crisis: currently, 78% of 10-year-old children are unable to comprehend and understand what they are reading. South Africa ranked last out of 50 countries in a Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) study. In fact, according to the recently released Reading Panel report, at the current rate of progress, it will take almost 80 years before 95% of grade 4 learners in the country are able to read for meaning – the year will be 2098.

These concerning statistics have crucial implications for South Africa’s future generations. Research states that if a child is unable to read by 13 years of age, they are likely to drop out of school, which then results in implications for the child’s future and the well-being of generations to come. This issue is further exacerbated by the fact that – in a country with 11 official languages – mother tongue language books are not part of the mainstream, nor are they readily available. Only 2% of children’s books published commercially in South Africa are in local African languages, even though 80% of

South Africans speak a home language other than English.

While English-language books featuring Eurocentric narratives are readily available, they lack cultural context enabling children of various backgrounds to identify with the stories they are told. According to the South African Constitution, everyone has the right to use the language and to participate in the cultural life of their choice. Moreover, studies also support that language diversity in literature creates smarter, happier children who are more likely to succeed later in life. STORIES REPRESENTATIVE OF SA KIDS Ethnikids, an online children’s bookstore producing books in all 11 official languages, has partnered with Wimpy in an edutainment initiative to increase literacy levels in South Africa. This initiative gives children access to an African folktale collection of books in their home language, enabling them to embrace their rich cultural heritage while providing them with the opportunity of reading diverse material that they can relate to and identify with. With the widest selection of inclusive children’s books in South Africa, Ethnikids, founded by five moms, specialises in providing children with diverse, multicultural, multilingual content and tales that represent the Rainbow Nation’s melting pot. “We have a literacy crisis in South Africa – many children are not showing any interest in reading and, after years of searching for books with characters that look like our children, it worried us that many children’s narratives were being excluded. It’s important for children’s self-image to relate to what they read, to understand more about other cultures and to breed tolerance,” says Khumo Tapfumaneyi, co-founder of Ethnikids.

Tina Akuok and Khumo Tapfumaneyi, founders of Ethnikids

SPARKING A LOVE OF READING

“To spark a love of reading, we need to provide children with material that they can identify with; they need to see people that look like them in the stories they read,” she adds.

South Africa has a rich heritage of storytelling traditions where history and cultural ethos are handed down from generation to generation. Maintaining language and traditions through literature enables this heritage to be preserved for future generations, with the ritual of storytelling and cultural folktales underpinning the values of society.

“These books will offer children a myriad of cultural values such as identity, quality time with their families through reading, learning about other cultures, and helping to build their confidence – all while maintaining and preserving their home language,” adds Tapfumaneyi.

Following the success of the partnership launched last year, a new collection of books has been written based on five different South African folktales. The aim is to capture South Africa’s rich heritage of stories in these imaginative children’s books while inspiring a love of reading.

This year’s initiative further encourages children to engage with the stories by including an interactive online experience. Children can choose their own ending by scanning a QR code at the back of the books using their own imagination to expand on the narratives.

WHERE TO FIND THE BOOKS

The books are available online in all 11 official languages, as well as in Khoekhoe/ Nama. They can be downloaded, together with MP4 recordings of the stories, at https://wimpy.co.za/kids/mzanzi-stories.

English books are available at Wimpy restaurants with a kids’ combo meal. Says Jacques Cronje, marketing executive, Wimpy: “We are passionate about igniting a love of reading and it’s important that we create a sense of pride in who we are and where we come from in a way that children are familiar with.”