Nal'ibali, the national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, has launched the radio programme in partnership with SABC Education. Airing stories three times a week, the partners are working together to create the conditions that inspire and sustain reading-for-enjoyment practices using oral storytelling - a vital tool in literacy development.
"Oral storytelling, apart from being entertaining, provides children with the richness of language and concepts they need for successful learning. The regular radio story slots create a counterpart to our bilingual weekly term time reading-for-enjoyment newspaper supplements that appear in select Times Media newspapers or are delivered direct to reading clubs, libraries and NGOs," comments Dr Carole Bloch, director of PRAESA (Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa) - a founding partner in the Nal'ibali campaign.
But learning to read and write is about more than just literacy, it is about sparking children's potential from birth.
"By the age of three, most of the brain's core structure is already formed and poor early childhood development has lasting impacts that are difficult to reverse. It's important that we reach as many South Africans as possible in order to encourage reading and storytelling with children from even before birth," comments David Harrison, CEO of the DG Murray Trust, the primary funder of the Nal'ibali campaign.
"Radio, reaching beyond the limitations of physical services and centre-based education, offers the perfect platform to interact, engage, inform and effectively educate listeners in their first language. It is still the most accessible medium for both urban and rural citizens and, with more than 28 million adults listening to these stations weekly, it can assist in making change happen more quickly," adds Tshilidzi Davhana, commissioning editor of SABC Education.
Given the importance of early childhood development in ensuring growth and opportunity for children and the national development of South Africa, the partnership combines Nal'ibali's early literacy expertise and multilingual resources with SABC's broadcasting and commitment to the development of quality educational content.
For more information, go to www.nalibali.org, www.nalibali.mobi, www.facebook.com/nalibaliSA or Twitter feed: @nalibaliSA.
