Mudimeli Village- Reading clubs are designed to help young children to develop a delighted and enjoyable reading habit. A reading club is a setting where lovers of books and stories gather on a regular basis to read, share stories, and discuss what they are reading with kids of all ages.

Following a successful launch of Book Club programme in Mopani East a few months ago, Limpopo Department of Education, in partnership with National Collaboration Education Trust (NECT), Principals and Circuit Managers joined MEC for Education in Limpopo, Mavhungu-Lerule Ramakhanya when she steered her second book club to Mitumba Primary School at Mudimeli Village under Vhembe West Education District, Makhado Local Municipality on 26 September 2023.

The book club programme is an initiative aimed at encouraging learners across all grades in the province to acquire interest in reading. This programme is meant to address the identified gap of learners at lower grades who cannot read with understanding. This is a great way to motivate learners to read, get them talking about books, and have them sharing ideas as well as to enhance their communication and social skills

During her keynote address, MEC Lerule-Ramakhanya shared with the learners the benefits for regular interaction with books.

"As the department, we need to come up with a programme that we give you support deliberately and consciously so for you to be able to start in the quest of reading for meaning, to understand what you will be reading. The book club that we launched, today is the continuous programme, we brought books for you to be able to read. We want to also say to you, the fact that you are in primary school does not mean that we as government cannot take care of you. For the book club programme to continue to exist, all of you should be able to participate in reading, it means the books that we are bringing, you are allowed to take the book home to be able to read and bring it back to share with the other leaners" explained MEC.

The book club programme will be rolled out to other Education Districts. Priority is given to schools that were identified to be recipients of trolley bin libraries from social partners. Mitumba and Siyandhani Primary Schools that hosted the launch and the follow-up programme are also lined-up to receive the mobile trolley bins. 

By Ndivhuwo Mukhada