We do not have a library on the Paardeberg Mountain and the farmworkers cannot join public libraries, because they do not have municipal accounts. We do have a big and well-stocked book case at Onse Skool and we read and tell stories every day… but that is still not a library.
So we get into our Quantum and go to the library whenever we can, class by class – which is unfortunately not that often. And it is just loverly: a warm and friendly and happy place with hundreds of books.
We have a dream: a school on the mountain, built around a library like the public library in Malmesbury where we can go so often that we will not take pictures of it every time we go, because we will just be there most of the time.
“Maak nie saak hoe arm nie, ’n kind wat lees, is ’n bevoorregte kind. Maak nie saak hoe verwaarloos of verlate nie, ’n kind wat lees, is ’n gekoesterde kind. Maak nie saak hoe onverdraagsaam ’n gemeenskap nie, ’n kind wat lees, begryp en verstaan. Maak nie saak hoe geestelik verarm ’n familie is nie, ’n kind wat lees, is ’n intelligente en ingeligte kind. Maak nie saak hoe onmenslik ’n gemeenskap nie, ’n kind wat lees, word ’n menslike kind.”
“No matter how poor, a child who reads is a privileged child. No matter how neglected or abandoned, a child who reads, is a cherished child. No matter how intolerant a community, a child who reads has empathy and understanding. No matter how educationally impoverished a family is, a child who reads is an intelligent and informed child. No matter how inhumane and brutal his surroundings, a child who reads, becomes a compassionate child.” – Antjie Krog (Rapport, 6 December 2009)