Imperial & Ukhamba: Keeping the Spirit of Nelson Mandela alive
On 21 July 2015 the trustees of Imperial and Ukhamba Community Development Trust handed over its 14th turnkey library and resource centre, situated at Pitseng Primary School, to the Department of Education.
The handover coincided with International Mandela Day on 17 July.
Mr. Mark Lamberti, CEO of Imperial Holdings, handed over this world-class facility to Mr. Enver Surty, Deputy Minister of Basic Education. Mr. Lamberti addressed the learners, encouraging them to make maximum use of their new library to read and complete their projects. He referred to other big-business corporate executives, who rose to the top of their careers through reading – both for enjoyment and for academic study. “Teaching is a great commitment,” he said to the teachers. “Yours is therefore the highest responsibility, to keep the children enraptured through the world of books.” He complimented the principal, Ms Mosia, for running a good school that could attract such a huge financial investment. Pointing to himself as a lifelong reader, he referred to his annual 10-day visit to Harvard University in the United States to keep abreast of global business trends.
Deputy Minister Surty, was equally complimentary of the school and the local district office and wished them well going forward. “It is initiatives such as this library programme that can stem the tide of poor achievement, “he said. “Research demonstrates over and over that the literacy levels of children exposed to reading – even for a few hours a week – improve many times over. “
Mr. Surty said access to libraries was such a high priority of Minister Motshekga, that the department had recently launched its “one-thousand libraries” project nationally, in the hope that the private sector would throw its weight behind the plan. “Madiba,” he said, “would have been truly proud that corporates go the route of developing communities in ventures of high cost and painstaking yield.”
Mbulelo Dlomo, a grade 4 learner at Tshepana Primary School in Orange Farm, spoke to a standing ovation of how her school library, also established by Imperial and Ukhamba, had changed her life. “My favourite author is Roald Dahl; I enjoyed Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Witches,” she said to an appreciative audience. “On Saturdays I love playing chess, Pictionary and Scrabble with my friends.”
Principal Ms Mosia thanked the trustees for the gorgeous library – the first Imperial library on Sebokeng soil, and, pledged the total commitment of her staff to all programmes emanating from it.
The library comes fully fitted and staffed, a start-up of at least 6 000 books – fiction and nonfiction, teacher reference and teaching resources, board games and a fantasy play-world housed in a beautiful Wendy house.
A smartboard, big screen TV, data projector and laptops complete the e-advancements; while just outside the library, on evergreen Astroturf, is featured a giant outdoor walkabout chess and checkers board measuring 4x4m.
The spirit of the late, revered father of the nation is truly alive, judging from the smiles, the hugs and excitement of the children and their teachers!
