Gaasitwe Setshedi and Liziwe Ndalana, two of the five aspiring magazine story writers currently attending the Kommadagga writing school hosted by LitNet, Huisgenoot and the Jakes Gerwel Foundation in Somerset East, tell us about the literacy initiatives they launched before the Covid lockdown put a spanner in the works. These two Kommadagga candidates are clearly not afraid of getting stuck in and making a difference to their communities. They shared some of their experiences with Melt Myburgh.
The Kommadagga writing school is currently in full swing and continues until 31 October 2022, with Rachelle Greeff and Niq Mhlongo as mentors for five emerging magazine story writers. The candidates: Danie Kriek (front) and from left: Ywinn Kraukamp, Esmé Cupido, Gaasitwe Setshedi and Liziwe Ndalana. (Photo: Danie Kriek)
Gaasitwe Setshedi was born in Mabopane, Tshwane. Her acting career started while she was serving communities as a field worker through educational theatre. She also criss-crossed the country with StageFright Edutainment’s educational productions for children. In 2014 she founded a literacy programme aimed at developing learners’ reading and comprehension skills at Marula Primary School in the town of her birth.
Gaasitwe Setshedi (Photo: Danie Kriek)
“I always wondered why illiteracy was having such a great impact on South Africans of a specific (financial) background,” she says. “The question constantly plaguing me was whether money was the only determining factor.”
Gaasitwe eventually concluded that quality of teaching had the greatest influence on reading and literacy in communities. “With the literacy programme my starting point was that it should make a contribution without disrupting the existing system. That is why the activities are presented as supplementary to what the children learn at school, rather than as something entirely separate or on its own.”
Gaasitwe put her theatre experience to good use in presenting lessons, and structured activities involving play were obviously a core component. “Reading and writing are basic skills, and many doors opened for me because I could read and write, not necessarily because I was ‘the best’.
“Reading plays an important part in my consciousness about myself. It directs my thinking. Being able to participate in conversations, both formal and informal, is liberating, and the more one reads the more you learn, and in that way you develop without necessarily being aware of it.”
Gaasitwe has this advice for people considering launching reading and literacy programmes in their communities: “Be patient, because it takes time for results to start showing. Don’t try so hard to ‘teach’; rather look at possibilities of how to incorporate incidental learning in activities.
“I got my best ideas from my learners by watching them attentively. So adapt your programme to meet the needs of your learners and prepare yourself for being called ‘Miss’ or ‘Ma’am’!”
Liziwe Ndalana (Photo: Danie Kriek)
Liziwe Ndalana describes herself as an activist for literacy development. She is a freelance writer and blogger who shares her adventures as a walker and coffee shop hunter in cyberspace. Before becoming a full-time businesswoman running a laundry business she launched Dream Factor in Nyanga, a club promoting literacy among children and adults.
“I started the project when I discovered that many of the children have no books to read in their homes. Initially I took the children to my home and read appropriate stories and reports from magazines and newspapers to them. They used to meet in my home for two hours on a Saturday.”
Not long after this, Liziwe started receiving some support from the organisations Nal’ Bali and Fundza, who sent her some children’s books. “It helped me a lot, and I gave the children books to take home and read there.”
Liziwe says she herself grew up in an environment where there were no books. “When I was later introduced to books I discovered what I could not have visualised in my imagination. I wish I could have been exposed to books earlier in my life.”
With Dream Factor Liziwe wanted to create that world that had not been a part of her life, for the children in her area.
Her advice to people who want to make a difference in the field of reading literacy in their area? “Involve the parents in your project from the word go, and don’t be shy to ask for support from organisations holding out a helping hand.”
Meet our candidates:
Some photos from the first Kommadagga week in Somerset East:
Kommentaar
Thank you so much LitNet for this beautiful feature.