While reading helps children to improve their vocabulary and become critical thinkers, many children who live in the townships remain uninterested in reading.
But the Isivivana Centre hopes to change this through their intensive and unique reading and story-telling sessions such as the one they held with a group of children from Khayelitsha and surrounds on Friday June 28.
The centre started these sessions to encourage children to read books and visit the library more often.
Librarian at Isivivana Centre, Nosipho Nondala, said children who enjoy reading often do well academically and not only in literacy subjects.
Ms Nondala said while parents may speak with their children every day, the vocabulary that they use was often limited and repetitive. Reading widely, on the other hand, exposed children to a variety of topics and a broader vocabulary, which may include words and phrases they may not hear every day.
She added that reading made children critical thinkers who questioned things and created opportunities for children to learn about other cultures and languages.
“There is really nothing more fulfilling than seeing children who love reading. Reading for enjoyment boosts the children confidence.
“Reading makes children informed and wise. Reading also affects the brain activity of children.
“The more children’s read the more they gain information and knowledge,” she said.
Isivivana Centre director, Bulelwa Ndibhongo, said such sessions gave the children a chance to improve their reading ability and that they wanted to shape the youth and enable them to become responsible people.
Tina Zoya said she was grateful to be part of the programme and that her confidence had been boosted.
She said she thought at first reading was a boring exercise but through the reading sessions and storytelling she learnt a lot about reading and its benefits.