Whisky's Story

I am a librarian, an adult education facilitator and a storyteller, a South African woman from Soweto, the outskirts of Johannesburg. In Orlando East Library, we took up a challenge to eradicate illiteracy. In South Africa, illiteracy is about 35 percent across the board, but for women it is 40 percent.

Our aim is to eradicate illiteracy. We want literate and financially independent individuals in our community. We want to be able to participate in building and strengthening our economy in South Africa. The most important part is women being financially independent.

Our focus is on women. History has taught us that women are always the most deprived when it comes to education. History has again taught us that to build a reading nation one has to start with women. However, we do not discriminate against men.

I believe learners should have formal and informal education, as they need an education that relates to their day-to-day needs. We offer a financial management course as part of skills training. Learners have bank saving books now. Their only problem is how to maintain the habit of saving when they do not have any income.

I motivate learners by telling them stories, to help them to relax to a familiar setting. Then I ask them to tell their stories. I believe everyone one of us has a story. Our objective is for learners to write their own story. That becomes our goal as we learn the alphabet.

My first experience with illiteracy came when two women came into the library and asked for a knitting book. I gave them books to select what they needed. To my surprise, they just looked at pictures and asked for a copy of one. I made a copy with instructions for the pattern. They left, only to come back after few day to have a look at the picture of the jersey. The jersey they made did not resemble the jersey in the book. These women were surprised, too. They looked again and talked to one another, “What went wrong?” they asked. “You did not follow the pattern,” I answered. To my surprise, they could not read. So, I had to read this pattern to them. They became my first learners. We sat down everyday and knitted jerseys. After completing their knitting, I invited them to come to the library for literacy classes. That was the beginning of literacy classes in Soweto libraries.

I am currently working in Orlando East library, the oldest library in Soweto. The library staff and management had to find ways to support our clients who need these classes.

Fortunately, I had a manager who is a dreamer like me. Literacy classes became an extension of services to our communities. I work with clients with different needs. For instance, I taught street hawkers selling vegetables who did not make any profit due to their lack of counting skills.

Today we pride ourselves as libraries to render a service that supports and empowers our communities. We now have a full time teacher for crafts and beadwork who is helping with new designs. The bead group leaders are handling the business. The literacy group has 56 new learners who came to do the beadwork enterprise. I had to explain that we do not do beads outside literacy classes. They were a little disappointed but stayed with us. We are no longer an informal group. We have installed literacy software on the library computers and are registered with the examination board so learners can be accredited. I am working with the City Council to establish programs in other libraries across Soweto.