GCINA Mhlope, one of the country's best-known poets and storytellers, is going out of her way to empower South African children to read.

GCINA Mhlope, one of the country's best-known poets and storytellers, is going out of her way to empower South African children to read.

Intent on encouraging the love for reading among children, she is working hard trying to raise funds for the Nozincwadi Project.

Founded in 2001 and inspired by Mhlope's passionate belief that children from disadvantaged backgrounds can improve their literacy through reading, the project's core work revolves around supplying "library boxes" to schools and community centres.

Mhlope's vision is admirable, but she is finding it increasingly difficult to sustain her passion without funds.

"The fire is still burning and we feel that millions more children need to benefit," she says. The struggle must continue. It is not over until our people see reading as part and parcel of our national growth. We urge parents to get involved in their children's development."

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