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Library
Ekucathuzeni Primary School
South Africa

The Problem

The school had no formal structure for a library.Learners relied on the book corners that were provided in each classroom.Learners and educators had to go for distances to access more information.Their projects and assisgnments were at times not completed due to insufficient refferences.They struggled to reach the town's library due to the cost of the taxi fare, resutling in incomplete or poorly researched assignments.

The learners' parents mostly are unemployed or the learner themselves are orphans.Learners were lacking confindence in reading and speaking due to the unavailabilty of information centres like libraries.Teachers also did not have enough referrences since the learner-teacher support material(LTSM)supplied by the state was not enough.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Quantitatively, the library initiative benefited a number of people,both primary and secondary beneficiaries.Learners' reading and research skills have improved since the library initiative was implemented.The learners can now do their assignments in the school mini library,using the refferences in the library.As primary beneficiaries, learners are participating and doing well in speech and reading festivals in the province.Teachers have now an abundance of books to refer learners to do their projects.
The community at large also benefit from the library, because they have access to it.Tertiary students visit the library to complete their assignments as it has a lot of referrences.Neighbouring schools are also beneficiaries of this as they also visit the library fro referrences purposes.As a special benefit for the school about the library, the school has a trained teacher-librarian who manages the library on a daily basis.Moreover, the presence of the library gives teachers the support they need in their teaching and instills the love for reading to the leaners.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Mrs Phindile Bekwa, a formr learner at Ekucathuzweni primary proposed the solution(library).Visiting the school after many years,she felt it was necessary for the school to have its own library.She sold the idea to the staff, school governing body (SGB) and to parents.The idea was recieved positively by everyone consulted.Mrs Bekwa went out asking for donations of books from businesses with with an aim of establishing a fully equipped library in future.The school also went out asking for donations for the library from local citizens.The following General practitioners (GP's) responded,Dr. Marakala,Dr Thwala and Dr Ndudane.Civil servants also heard the and laid had, this refers to Malusi Gigaba Deputy Minister of home affairs Chris Gololo Member of parliament both from the South African government.Some of the stakeholder who contributed were:
Missing Link- South Africa
Biblionef South Africa
Komatiland Forestry- South Africa:Who contributed books to the value of R70 000, a library management system, computer, television set, DVD player for the library.The company further trained teachers on the uswage of the library management system.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
On the 12th of Marc 2008, the school launched its library project in partnership with Mpumalanga provincial department of education in South Africa.Mrs Phindile Bekwa an ex-learner, initiated the project by asking for donations of books from businesses.During the launch of the library, she requested parents , businesses, communityand teachers to work together in realization of the goal of having a school library.The main objective as alluded above was to have a school library.In realizing the objective, companies like Exclusive books, READ organization,Biblionef and Komatiland all form South Africa, and donated books for the library.During the launch, the Department of enviromental affairs donated and planted a tree as a symbol of remembrance for the library.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The school has developed from book corners and mobile library to a fully eqiupped school mini library, which was launched on the 12th of March 2008 by Mr. K Ndawo the head of the ELIS unit in the Mpumalanga depatment of education in South Africa.Learners, teachers, parents and the community were excited about the initiative.Thereafter, a sponsorship was sourced from Komatiland Forestry with an official handing over of the sponsorship done on the 17th of February 2009.Leaners have developed reading , research and oral skills as a result of initiative.The teacher libririan Ms SD Mkhonto also developed some asset management skills as she manages the library.The school as awhole has become more user-friendly to the entire community as it is frequently accessed through the library

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
As a non-profit organisation, one ,main obstacle we encoutered was lack of donations or sponsorship.The school had human resources that went out looking for donations but a number of companies were not interested in coming forward.Other companies rejected us even before looking at our proposals.As a school we never gave up, we kept knocking at their doors.Some civil servants and NGOs heard our call hence we now have a mini school library.to overcome this obstacle, the school asked big companies like Komatiland and Biblionef for donations of books.As a school
"we are still looking forward to receiving donations for the library ".Komatiland Forestry assisted the school by offering basic training to teachers on library management.
The structure for the library is small and to overcome this, the school has requested funds from potential donors to upgrade the structure.We are anxiously and patiently waiting for sponsors to respond to our request.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The objective was to establish a school library that will equip our learners and community.In realizing the objective, the human resource that initiated implemented the intiative, volunteered to do this work without any remuneration.Teachers volunteered to go around asking sponsorships.Missing link a Souht afircan company offered its service by training the teacher libririan without any charge, the estimated charge for the course is R18 000.
However, the library initiative strained the technicl resources of the school.Communicating with the potential donors, the school's telephone, fax machines and photocopiers were used.an estimated amount of R12 000 was utilized on this technical resources.READ organization SA and Exclusive Books donated to the value of R36 000 combined.Komatiland Forestry donated books , a library management swystem, television set and a DVD player all to a value of R70 000.Local GPs Dr Ndudane and Dr Marakala and Elegance funeral brokers also donated funds to buy a plan for the future library.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
It is sustainable in the sense that the school is able to manage it properly.The library produces life-long learners; the books in the library will still be used by other learners who will join the school in the coming years.The community with its vast cultures has access to the library; hence it is socially and culturally sustainable.However, finacial sustainability poses a threat if the school does not get sponsors.The information in the library is transferable because it is accessed by the community and neighboring schools.In addition , the school has made provisions in the school budget to keep the library fuctional.The school has also a plan to identify other stakeholders to come on board; for example former learners to make donations to the library for it sustenance.This project can be replicated in other schools provincially, nationally and internationally if stakeholders can work together.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Learners' reading and research skills have improved; our learners take part and succeed in th espeech and reading festivals.Our learners can now compete with learners' from any school around.The school's enrollment is escalating since the initiative of the library began.The culture of teaching and learning is realised as a result of this initiative.The school recieves compliments from all corners of the society and from provincial and national dignitaries because of the initiative.Locally the school is also assisting other schools and organizations on how to begin an new venture.Basically what made the initiative to succeed is the will to do something, persverence, putting people first and selling your idea to relevent people.What we learned from this initiative is that great things can also happen to small organixations like schools.We have also learned from the project that private-public partnership can work tremendously to uplift the standard of living within the communities.Lastly, communities should not wait for the state to deliver, but have initiatives to help them like this project.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Ekucathuzeni Primary School
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Nomsa Mathabela
Title:   Mrs  
Telephone/ Fax:   013-712-2765
Institution's / Project's Website:   013-712-3304
E-mail:   lucas.mathonsi@eskom.co.za  
Address:   P.O. BOX 280
Postal Code:   1300
City:   BARBERTON
State/Province:   Mpumalanga
Country:   South Africa

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