South African Primary Educators Support Initiative (SAPESI) Director, Tadashi Hasunuma, in partnership with the Free State education department launched a mobile library initiative with a view to promoting a culture of reading among learners in the province.
Speaking at the handover of mobile libraries in Bloemfontein Hasunuma, said SAPESI had delivered 50 mobile libraries in nine provinces in the country in recent years and will be delivering four more this year.
According to Hasunuma, SAPESI began distributing mobile libraries five years ago in South Africa. The organisation plans to distribute 11 libraries to five districts in the province.
He said the mobile libraries will also supply books to 1 300 public schools, focusing mainly on underprivileged schools in the province.
“We began this drive because we realised that many of the township schools have no or insufficient access to libraries. We realised that lack of libraries resulted in many children in the affected areas not being able to read and write,” said Hasunuma.
The Japanese government has invested in the project and is funding the distribution of mobile libraries and books to public schools in South Africa.
“The buses we import from Japan are in good condition. In Japan, after vehicles have driven particular kilometers, we discard them and replace them with new ones,” he said.
Hasunuma also approached Sony managing director, Nobua Kinoshita, who committed to providing books to the project as part of his company’s corporate social investment. The company has donated 125 000 books to South African public schools over the past five years.
Kinoshita said Sony was focused on assisting children in South African primary schools. Japan’s ambassador to South Africa, Yutaka Yoshizawa, said he was happy with Husunami’s goal of donating 100 mobile libraries to South African public schools by 2014.
“We are hopeful that this target will be reached, especially considering he is halfway there,” said Yoshizawa.
He said that this was not the first time Japan had invested in South Africa. The Asian giant has established grassroots security projects estimated at R500 000 throughout South Africa.
According to Yoshizawa, the Japanese government is also building schools in rural South Africa. It has also appointed a Jaguar expert who is doing research in science curriculum at one of the universities in the country.
Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, said the mobile libraries are important for the benefit of primary school children, but pointed out that their impact needs to be established.
Makgoe said importing a truck load of books was not sufficient to boost education among primary scholars, and emphasised that the children need to visit the mobile libraries, read and understand the books.
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