Book donation will open many doors at Home of Hope

Cape Town – To mark Youth Month, the Cape Argus along with Milnerton Primary and Mancosa delivered hundreds of books, along with other items, to the Home of Hope in Table View.

Kim Fernandez, principal of the Amathemba Special Needs School, which is a project of Home of Hope, was on hand to receive the donation. She said reading opened up many doors for the children at the school.

“We support children, and we care for children that have intellectual disabilities, that are special needs children. So a mainstream career and a mainstream path into adulthood and success is not what they’ll be pursuing. They’ll be pursuing something that requires a lot of support,” said Fernandez.

Milnerton Primary school principal Warwick Middleton said his school had a long-standing association with the Home of Hope.

“The love of reading runs quite deep for us at the school and the idea that any child is going to go through life unstimulated, from a reading point of view … the mind is a vehicle for freedom.

“You can be limited economically, limited socially but if you empower the child through reading the world is literally their oyster,” said Middleton.

Nuhraan Sambo, Associate Director for Mancosa tells us about why it was important for them to donate a mobile library as part of the Cape Argus Book Drive challenge. pic.twitter.com/XxY5KPSYnv

— Cape Argus (@TheCapeArgus) June 18, 2021

He said his school’s contribution was a small start but hopefully the start of a very big adventure for the children at the Home of Hope.

Mancosa’s associate director, Nuhraan Sambo, was also present for the handover, and says it was in line with her organisation’s “Million Books Campaign”.

“It was started by our founding principal, Professor Yusuf Karodia, and it was borne out of his passion for reading. He wanted to ensure that all young learners have access to education,” said Sambo.

She said the Million Books Campaign’s aim was to distribute mobile library units to disadvantaged schools around South Africa.

The Cape Argus in partnership with Milnerton Primary School and Jan van Riebeeck Primary School embarked on a winter challenge to encourage a culture of reading in children and advocate the importance of reading in childhood development, in the form of a Book Drive challenge. pic.twitter.com/FQ3mGoKQXd

— Cape Argus (@TheCapeArgus) June 18, 2021

Cape Argus