Lumkile’s Book Joint SA: Harnessing the Culture of Reading in Cape Town

By Busiswa Lutshaba

The learning crisis in Cape Town townships is severe, with children facing significant literacy challenges. For instance, most grade 4 children struggle to read for meaning, while many grade 2 students do not even know the alphabet. Access to books and educational resources can make a difference in these communities. Research indicates that providing adequate resources like books can improve literacy levels. Interventions such as access to books are crucial in addressing the educational disparities and uplifting learning outcomes in Cape Town’s townships. Heeding this call is Lumkile Mzukwa with his project, Book Joint SA.

Lumkile’s Book Joint SA is a unique space and brand with an international reach and a local focus. It is not just about books but about fostering a reading culture, nurturing aspiring writers, and supporting young activists who positively impact their communities. Doing so is improving local tourism and empowering black townships across South Africa.

Lumkile’s Book Joint SA aims to promote a reading culture. “Over and above our Children’s Literacy programmes, which naturally require a consistent need for funding Lumkile’s Book Joint SA has embarked on developing a National Literacy Campaign Model to have a sustainable programme to address the national crisis of illiteracy where it matters most, in schools, while broadly promoting a culture of reading and building a market of book buyers,” shared Lumkile.

‘Joint’ which forms part of Lumkile’s Book Joint SA, is derived from the black-owned salons that originated in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, which were called Joints or Shebeens, where current affairs discussions took place and cultural activities were held; it hosted journalists, musicians, creatives, and music sessions, especially jazz. This is where the founder and bibliophile, Lumkile Mzukwa, drew inspiration from collecting books for over two decades, and he decided to dedicate his passion for reading and obtaining knowledge to better his community, Gugulethu, in South Africa. The ‘Read One Book a Month’ concept is one of Lumkile’s Book Joint SA initiatives. It is designed to encourage the community to read great literature, bridging the gap between communities and books. By promoting regular reading, the concept aims to enhance comprehension skills, expose readers to new works of literature, expand knowledge, and celebrate and promote local authors and aspiring writers.

The brains behind this movement, Lumkile Mzukwa, stated, “Additionally, to promote the culture of reading, we launched a concept that will encourage and support schools to activate school libraries, which we call the ‘National Literacy Campaign Model.’ This model is meant to promote the culture of reading in schools and introduce literary activities, instilling confidence amongst the learners, mitigating reading challenges in the future, and harnessing their comprehension, confidence, and future talents like writing or public speaking.”

As part of inclusion and access, the spaces host events where they give away books for free to communities. Everyone is welcome to come, young and old, to collect curated books for each ‘free book’ event at no cost to them. The books cover various topics like sales, business, marketing, poetry, history, culture, and much more. Lumkile believes this model is effective and promotes the culture of reading holistically. Instead of individuals travelling to the libraries, which, in his view, sometimes do not have quality books, and the risk of the books not being returned, the audience can now own the books. Better yet, they select the books they want to read. This event is also a networking event amongst teachers, professionals, entrepreneurs, peer-topeer high school students, and writers, to mention a few.

Lumkile’s Book Joint SA, born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a testament to Lumkile Mzukwa’s dedication to his community. By transforming his home garage into an informal library and community space, he has provided a platform for black communities to free their minds through reading. The Joint is a space and a movement always seeking impactful partnerships and collaborations to expand its reach and help families and communities build their own Lumkile’s Book Joint SA across the country.